


Cry Of A Fallen Crow

by Sakuchii



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Boys In Love, Complicated Relationships, Crossdressing Hinata, Drama, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry For This All, Jealousy, M/M, Multi, Multiple Pairings, Oblivious Kageyama, Secrets, Shounen-ai, Slow Romance, alternative universe, personality change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2018-02-25 16:06:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 82,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2627807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakuchii/pseuds/Sakuchii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata would've never imagined that he would get married at the age of 18 - and more over to a man! He also never imagined that he would eventually fall in love with Kageyama! The more they spend time together, the more he starts to question himself : Has he met this man before?  </p><p>The simple arranged marriage turns into battle for Hinata's life, when an unknown enemy makes they appearance. Does Kageyama realize his love for the orange-head before it's too late? </p><p>The gears that stopped that time are starting to move again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I shall warn you all for character death, crossdressing, angst, mentioned abuse and suicide attempt. Yes, I'm really sorry for all that going to happen to the cast of this story! 
> 
> The prologue happens prior to the start of the story! 
> 
> I changed the summary due to personal reasons, but it's still the same story and author :)  
> Enjoy!

**Burned Wings**

* * *

It was hot. His vision was blurry due to exhaustion and it was hard to breath. Flames surrounded him everywhere and his body itched, maybe there was a broken bone or even two? The pain was unbearable, his small figure did it best to support him and not fall.

The boy used the little of his strength he had left to open his eyes and look at his surroundings. Slowly he strolled down the path before him. His other leg was already numb so he had to drag it in order to advance. Flames surrounded him everywhere he looked. He was literally in the middle of a fire lake.

_Where am I?_

How he had ended up in this kind of situation, he didn't remember. The more he tried to remember the more his brain hurt. Just trying to bring up memories from a few seconds earlier would have his entire head and body hurt so much it was unbearable. So he had decided to stop trying to think of anything.

He breathed in for more oxygen but only carbon monoxide filled his lungs. His young mind had started to blank out and he fell down, his legs were unable support the weight of his small body anymore. Every inch of his body hurt. From the corner of his eye he could see his entire body was covered in blood. Was it his… or maybe someone else's?

Once again he tried to look around himself; maybe there was still someone with him? He tried to catch any movement to know that he wasn't the only living soul in this place. It was no use. The place was completely empty. No matter where he turned he could only see flaming wood. As if he was the only person in the whole area.

_What is this place?_

The boy fell down as his whole body went numb; it had finally reached its limit. His breathing was heavy and slow, as if every breath was a battle of life and death for him. His vision was getting black as he finally gave in. He didn't care anymore; he should just end his life here.

With death in mind, all of sudden he remembered his parents and younger sister. They were all dear to him, his beloved ones. A teardrop rolled down his cheek; he didn't want to be separated from them. He still wanted to live, but his mind and body longer had the will for it. It would just be easier to fall asleep and never wake up again.

_Mom, Dad, Natsu… I'm sorry._

Just as he was about to close his eyes, the orange-head saw a dark figure walking towards him. The body was completely covered by a cloak so he didn't know if it was a woman or a man. It walked closer, somehow the boy could imagine as the figure was smugly smirking at him.

_Who are you?_

The smirk gave him the creeps, but on the other hand he was relieved. So he wasn't the only person wandering in that place. No matter how dangerous an aura the person was emitting, he was too tired to notice nor care about it. He wished that this unknown person would take him away from this place. He just wanted to be taken somewhere else; he wanted to get out of that place.

It was as if his begging was heard when the figure suddenly walked forward and the ginger head saw it slowly reaching toward him. A weak smile appeared on the boy's face. He tried his best to move his hand even a just little, but it was no use. He had finally lost all of his strength. As a response to the weak movement, his palm started to itch even more. All of a sudden a sharp pain entered his whole arm slowly expanding to his other body parts.

The attempt of the cloaked person was interrupted when two figures suddenly dashed before him. One of the small features he could recognize as his younger sister. Natsu was completely covered in mud, blood and cuts. Her face and hair were messed up as she took heavy breaths. She did her best to cover her arm which was wounded and flowing out blood, a thick blood trail was running down her cheek as if she was crying blood as well.

_Natsu._

When it came to the other figure, he wasn't able to get a clear image. What he saw was a short black hair and childish body structure, most likely the person was a boy; but he couldn't be sure. For some reason the figure looked feminine, just like his sister. The person was also covered in mud and blood; they both had their clothes ripped off in various places.

He kept staring at the person, wondering who it was. He could understand that his sister would come to his rescue, but to think that someone else would as well. After all he was hated and bullied by other students and even teachers abused him, so why would someone other than his family care about him. He didn't understand it.

_Who?_

The dark figure backed off and started to laugh evilly. "What are you two doing, trying to protect him? He's nothing more than a useless vessel. Why do you struggle so much to protect him?" The voice was deep, but that was most likely due the ringing in his ears, he could barely make up what they were talking.

A small movement was made, which caught his attention towards his sister.

Natsu took few deep breaths and changed her posture so that her footing was steadier. "Because he's my brother!" She yelled her lungs out.

The ginger head smiled, his usually so aloof sister was actually being serious for once.

Tears rolled down Natsu's cheeks as she continued. "He's my big brother! We're family! I love him! Do I need anything more for me to want to protect him?" The girl's determined voice started vibrating as she lost her composure. She felt her legs betraying her and she fell to her knees. Big pearl like tears rolled down her cheeks, making her already dirty face even more soiled.

After hearing Natsu's words the figure then turned to look at the other child, waiting for an answer. The child remained silent for a while, but after glancing at Natsu drying her eyes, they finally spoke. "I only have one reason. It's because I lo-"

But the ginger head could hear no more. The ringing in his ears got louder and his eyes were closing rapidly. With his last amount of power he could only see the other child's mouth move, implying that the person was still speaking. With that his mind finally gave in and the boy passed out.

**"SHOYO!"**


	2. Out Of The Woods

"AAAH!" Hinata yelled in fear and startled as he woke up. His whole body was covered in sweat as it ran down his forehead and neck. His breathing was deep and heavy, as if he had just run a marathon. The boy gulped and shook his head, his body still remembering the pain and fear of the dream. He felt as if his heart would burst of his chest.

"Onii-san, wake up!" Natsu came running to his room, but stopped when she saw her brother so freaked out. The sibling pair shared a long stare with Hinata's eyes wide open and Natsu freaking out at her brother's looks. With frozen motions she backed off and closed the door.

Silence filled his room.

Once again the door opened, just enough for Hinata to see his sister eyes gleam. "The breakfast is ready. Come down and join us." With that the door closed once again.

Hinata wobbled up from his bed and headed towards the bathroom which was just left from his room. He freshened up by washing his face and brushing his teeth. As water was running down his body, he glanced at the mirror. His eyes were still wide open; he hadn't managed to calm himself down.

That was one freaky nightmare, it felt so real. More than a dream, it was like a memory; the pain, every breath and his emotions, as if he had personally been there. He had never seen Natsu act that way, the girl was always so calm and smiling and the other two, they felt familiar, especially the kid, who even more than just familiar; felt more like special.

The other person seemed scary. He reeked of a dangerous aura. He wondered what he would've done to him if Natsu and the other kid hadn't come to his rescue. Most likely he would have been killed. Even though it had been just a dream even the thought of it caused him to get goose bumps all over his skin. It was better to shake the dream off his head.

Hinata took a quick shower to wipe off the sweat and then headed to his room. He changed to his school uniform; a plain hoodie and he wore gakuran on top of it. He tried to comb off his bed hair, but as usual his hair wouldn't listen to him. Sighing in defeat, he then finally walked downstairs to join the breakfast.

Everyone had already gathered around the table. Hinata sat next to Natsu, who was also wearing the uniform of Karasuno High. While Hinata was in his third year, Natsu was in her first year. Even though they went to the same school, unlike Hinata, Natsu seemed to be very popular. He often heard that upperclassmen confessed their love to her yet, she had turned down all of them. After all, she already had a person she loved.

"Ohayo." Hinata greeted everyone and started his meal. His sister smiled at him widely as if the thing before hadn't happened. That was the very thing Hinata liked about Natsu; she didn't really meddle into other people's business. She never mentioned it if Hinata was suddenly acting weird, like she had already forgotten about it.

When Hinata was halfway done the family head, his father, suddenly placed his chopsticks down. The air in the room got so heavy all of a sudden. Letting go of his own chopsticks Hinata gulped, he didn't like it. The boy glanced at his mother and noticed that she was looking rather worried. This confirmed his intuition; something serious was going to happen unless it already did happen.

"Shoyo and Natsu, Otoo-san has something to tell you." With these words, even Natsu stopped to eat and turned to look at her father. The Hinata residence had fallen silent. Everyone waited for their father to continue.

"The thing is," the head of the family finally spoke. "Otoo-sans company is in deep debt that we cannot pay back on our own. If the situation continues, the company will go to bankrupt and as the director I will take the full responsibility. We will lose everything, my job, this house, our car, everything. I'm not sure if you two will be able to continue go to school."

There was a pause as the father tried to search for the right words; no one in the room dared to breath. Even though, only a few seconds had passed, Hinata felt as if the silence had lasted for minutes. Finally he heard his mother mumbling in worrisome manner. "Anata..." That broke the ice, and his father finally inhaled.

"That all will happen if we leave things the way they are now. But there is something we can do." His father finally raised up his head a little bit. The man glanced at his daughter, his brown eyes shining with concern and apology. Natsu just glanced at her father, not understanding the meaning behind his expression.

"I have spoken with the head of Kageyama family and they agreed to help with our financial problems if we fill in one condition. And that condition is to have our daughter Natsu marry their only son, Kageyama Tobio."

The man took his chopsticks and finished his meal, as a sign that the conversation was over. He hadn't wanted to say it; he hadn't wanted to destroy his daughter's future with his financial problems, but the company was important to him. He couldn't imagine the life of his family if the company was to fall down. Natsu was most likely to quit school before even completing high school and Hinata couldn't continue to University.

Hinata's, as well as Natsu's, eyes widened and his mouth dropped down. What he had just heard? An arranged marriage and at such a young age? Natsu was to marry someone she didn't even love, more precisely, she had never even met him before.

"You cannot be serious!" the ginger-head slammed his hands on the table, startling everyone. "You cannot just go and marry off Natsu before even asking for her permission! Do you understand that this completely ruins her future? She has dreams and wishes too. She wants to explore the world!"

He couldn't hold back his emotions. His father had acted selfishly, and was only thinking about his own benefits and the company. He didn't treasure his own family. How could he do that to Natsu? Hinata just couldn't understand it.

"Nii-san, it's okay." Natsu suddenly mumbled while munching her rice. Hinata's rage was so strong that he didn't hear her.

"Arranged marriage, fuck me! I thought you treasured Natsu more than that, but it seems that she's just a tool for you. A tool to save your company!" Hinata continued, his voice getting louder; he was going to protect his sister. His parents just stared at him; neither of them interrupting him.

"Nii-san."

"I'd rather live poorly, drop out from school and search for work than have Natsu marry a total stranger. What if he turns out to be a bastard and total asshole? What if she never loves him? I don't want her to marry without love, especially when she already-!"

Hinata finally stopped when a small hand pulled his sleeve. He turned and saw Natsu staring at him with a calm look. Her brown-colored eyes shined and the girl shook her head. "It's enough already, please stop." His beloved sister told him in a calm tone, her voice not even cracking.

Shocked at his sister's words, Hinata finally stopped and sat down. Natsu smiled at him and then turned to her parents. "Otoo-san, Okaa-san. I'll accept to be married into the Kageyama family. I'll be happy if I can help to save Otoo-san's company." She smiled happily.

After Natsu's announcement the meal continued in silence. Everyone was too shocked to speak. The head of the family hadn't expected Hinata to snap like that, but Natsu's comment came completely out of the woods. Regarding Natsu's statement, Hinata was most likely the most upset and surprised. How could she say such things when she already had a boyfriend whom she loved?

"Nii-san, let's go to school." Natsu called for her brother after finishing her meal. She headed towards the front door and Hinata followed her, observing her. He had always felt that there had been something off with her and now his suspicion had been confirmed.

No matter what happened, Natsu always remained calm and kept up her smile. He had always found it strange, but had shaken off the doubt with a thought that she was just good at hiding her anger. But this matter finally made it clear to him.

It was as if Natsu didn't feel anger at all.


	3. Confession After Confession

Hinata and Natsu headed toward school and the older brother could not help but shoot glances at his younger sister. There was definitely something wrong with her. He had already realized earlier that she occasionally behaved strangely. During, the moments normal people would get angry; she shook them off with a wide smile. It was always like that, even about the marriage proposal.

"Are you sure that you're not angry at Otoo-san?" The ginger head asked his little sister. Natsu froze at his question. For a short moment, Hinata could see as her eyes glazed with anger but soon they got there color back and Natsu smiled happily. She turned to face Hinata.

"What are you talking about; of course I'm not angry. Otoo-san only wants the best for us so he's working very hard. I have to do my best to repay his kindness." Natsu laughed, which made Hinata to sigh in defeat. Natsu always spoke words from her mouth, she always knew how to counter-attack him and leave her poor brother completely speechless.

"Then, what about your boyfriend?" Hinata questioned.

Natsu glanced at her brother, raising her eyebrow. "What about him?"

"Won't he be angry at the news? I mean, no man can stay sane after hearing that his girlfriend suddenly has a fiancé," Hinata explained. Natsu's eyes widened for a moment and she fell into deep thoughts with a long exhale her mouth dropped a little.

"More than angry, Shi-chan will surely cry." Natsu let out a sad smile.

"EH?" Hinata was taken by surprise. Would he actually cry?

The girl continued, "He doesn't have any self-confidence, so rather than getting angry; Shi-chan will cry. He'll think that he's not good enough; that I have found a better man than him... that's the kind of guy he is." Natsu smiled at her older brother, her cheeks crimson red as she spoke of the man she loved.

A tear drop fell down her cheek.

"Eh? I got something in my eye." Natsu dried her tearing eyes, coming up with the most cliché excuse one could think of.

Hinata made a sad smile. He has yet to meet this man Natsu held close to her heart, but he was sure of one thing. If Natsu treasured this man so much that she'd cry for him, then he must be a really wonderful man. Hinata couldn't wait for the day he would get to meet him.

He was also sure of one more thing. Natsu wasn't completely emotionless... she truly did have emotions. Even though she never showed anger towards anyone, not even Natsu could suppress the feeling of sadness when having someone dear was being taken away from her...

The rest of the walk, both siblings remained silent.

To Hinata it seemed that Natsu would burst into tears if she even opened her mouth, so he knew better than to set off the bomb. It was better if he gave her time to think, the morning had been hard on both of them; especially Natsu.

After passing few shops and crossing the old wooden bridge, the siblings caught sight of the main school building. They had finally arrived and joined the other students who were hurrying to school.

"Oh..." Hinata was caught in surprise that they had arrived so soon. Thanks to leaving earlier with Natsu, for once Hinata managed to arrive on time. Usually he made it just in time so it felt weird that he actually had time to spare. Though, maybe it would've been better if they had taken a longer road.

Hinata turned to Natsu, hoping that she had already managed to gather herself. Most likely it wouldn't be the best, if Natsu was to meet her friends in such state of mind. She was usually known to be cheerful and bright, so her friends would definitely feel that something was off. It was for the best if Natsu didn't tell her friends about the marriage. It would bring a lot of unnecessary trouble and rumors.

When seeing Natsu, he understood that he had nothing to worry about. Natsu was already her usual self and waved at her friends when they called out for her.

"Nii-san! See you after school!" Natsu waved goodbye to Hinata as she dashed forward towards her friends, who waited for her to join them. In blink of an eye the girl was already accompanying her friends. Hinata chuckled. He was jealous of Natsu, she was so strong.

Hinata then changed his attention back to the school building and for a short moment, and his expression darkened. He inhaled deeply and pulled himself together. It was alright; just like Natsu, he was strong. He could definitely do it.

And so the eldest and only son of Hinata family headed towards his classroom.

* * *

No.

He couldn't do it.

Hinata sighed in despair and fell on his desk, wrapping his arms around his head. Even though he had been so determined in the morning, once again he had disappointed himself. He couldn't talk to his classmates; since the beginning of his third year, none of his classmates had approached him or even tried to make any kind of contact.

He would be lying if he said he didn't know the reason for it. His classmates avoided him like the plague. Even the members of the volleyball club he was in - as a constant bench warmer - tried not to speak to him if only possible. They were all acting strangely and he perfectly knew the cause of it.

Of course, like any normal human being Hinata liked to be alone sometimes. It helped him gather his thoughts together but wanting to be alone and being purposely left out of the group are two completely different things. Hinata understood it very well.

"Ano, Hinata-san?" Hinata heard a voice calling for him and snapped out of it. When he raised his head, he saw the class rep standing before him. She was a petite girl with long dark brown braids and round glasses. The girl was moving anxiously and her eyes were glued to ground as if she was afraid to look at Hinata.

Finally Hinata realized he needed to reply. "Yes?"

"You still haven't handed the notes for math class..." she was quiet - so quiet that Hinata barely formed the words. The girl glanced at Hinata beneath her bangs, but when her black eyes met with his brown ones, she immediately looked down.

Blinking his eyes few times, Hinata finally made a movement. "Right." He said aloud and turned to his bag. He took the notes and handed them to the girl. "Here." The boy smiled kindly, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was - and he could clearly see that she was scared of him.

The class rep reached with her trembling hand towards Hinata and with swift movement she snatched the notes from his hand avoiding any possible body contact. Without any words she then hurried to her friends, who were the center and most popular group of the class. Hinata was left stunned.

"I got them... Hinata-san's notes." the girl managed to voice, her whole body still trembling.

The others glanced at her and then at Hinata.

"Good work, Naoki." a female student comforted her friend.

"I feel bad that you were chosen as the class rep. Now our Naoki has to deal with that Hinata." A boy shrugged.

"It's really good that the school year is already ending. Hopefully, after we graduate, we don't have to see his face anymore." Another boy made a statement, glaring at Hinata with an irritated look on his face.

"I heard that his younger sister is the idol of the first years... but her older brother is just..." with that all the other students turned to Hinata. The boy blinked his eyes and when the group noticed this they all turned back to the circle.

"You know, I heard that few days ago Hinata..."

Hinata didn't even bother to listen to them any further. It was just going to be another absurd rumor. He had been labeled as a delinquent and mostly ridiculous rumors were spreading in the school. The uttermost reason for them... was most likely the people - the only people - who he hanged around with.

"Shoyo!"

Speaking of the devils, always in time.

Following the loud yell two figures walked into the classroom. The other one was just a bit shorter than Hinata and had his dark brown hair ruffled upwards and a tiny turf of hair which fell on his forehead was bleached. The person's brown and slanted eyes shined as he turned to the person next to him.

The person next to him was half head taller and he had amber-colored and sharp cat-like eyes. His neck length hair was blonde, though his hair root growth made his original hair color visible. This boy looked more composed than the earlier one and he was wearing troubled expression.

"Noya-san! Kenma-san." Hinata greeted the duo and stood up from his seat.

"We came to pick you up. Let's have lunch!" Nishinoya announced happily his stomach grumbling as an answer. The boys burst into laughter while blushing lightly. Hinata couldn't help his smile. He then took his bento from his bag.

"As always, Hinata hangs around with those repeaters..." He suddenly heard a whisper from the seat next him.

"Yeah. I heard that Nishinoya-san beat up ten people alone... He's scary..." A girl said, glancing at Nishinoya.

"You can only be with them, if you're like them. I bet that Hinata could beat us up any moment he wanted. I heard that he's actually the evil mastermind, who ordered Nishinoya beat up the guys just because he didn't like them..."

"Scary!"

Hinata sighed, ignoring the whispers. Somehow, he had gotten used to it. Just because he hang around with people who were labeled as the schools two most frightening delinquents, the rumors said he was just like them. But, he didn't care of the rumors anymore, as long as his dearest friends knew what he was like the opinion of other people didn't matter to him.

Even though Hinata was alright, Nishinoya wasn't going let it slide. "Shut up you guys! You can talk shit about me all you want, but don't you dare say anything about Shoyo. He's the kindest person you could ever meet. He saved me!" The little guy yelled, startling everyone. The whispers stopped immediately and Nishinoya crossed his arms puffing.

Kenma walked to Hinata and placed his hand on the ginger-heads shoulder. "If anyone of you dare to hurt Shoyo, be sure that I will come and haunt you till the end of the world." His cat-like eyes gleamed, frightening people; the atmosphere in the classroom grew darker and heavier.

This was bad. Even though the two of them only wanted to protect Hinata, with their actions they only made things worse for him. He bet that after this he would be completely isolated from the rest of the class. He needed to make something to save his situation from the oblivious and over-protective friends. "That's enough! Let's go already or we won't have enough time to eat our lunches!" The ginger-head said.

The two boys immediately agreed, but before leaving the classroom they both flashed angry glares at Hinata's classmates. Everyone got goose bumps. It was for sure, if they were even to look at Hinata they were all dead meat.

"Man, those classmates of yours. I can't believe they're so mean!" Nishinoya groaned immediately after they had stepped out of the classroom. He still had his arms crossed and was walking with heavy steps. "Why are we in different classrooms?"

Hinata didn't really want to tell that Nishinoya and Kenma only made his isolation only worse. If he did that he would most likely lose his only friends and he didn't want that. He was happy enough as long as these two were with him.

"Could it be... that they're scared of you because of us?" Kenma asked. Hinata felt like knife stabbing his back. As Kenma was very observant person he always managed to hit the bulls eye. The ginger head wasn't even sure what he was supposed to answer to his friend.

"There's no way it's like that! Shoyo would've told if it's that way! Also, what there's no reason to be scared of us?" Nishinoya replied instead of Hinata. He glared at the taller boy and Kenma shook it off by averting his eyes.

"Chibi..."

Nishinoya's vein popped hard. "OI! Don't go calling me that! You frigging bastard. You know that I hate it..." He rampaged at his friend. Hinata could only laugh desperately. Those two surely were close. He was glad to be with them and graduate together with them.

Nishinoya and Kenma were actually a year older than Hinata. Nishinoya and Hinata met when the latter one was in last year of Jr. High and Kenma was his senpai from the volleyball club. They were both starters in the volleyball club while Hinata was only bench warmer.

Due to his righteous and furious personality Nishinoya often got into fights with delinquent groups of other schools. The rumor of him beating up ten people was actually true. And because of that incident he was suspended from school for half a year and was forbid to enter the inter-high. When his suspension was over, it was already time for the final exams. He failed his tests and due to low grades had to repeat a year.

Kenma's story was simpler. He skipped school due to his weak body and as result his attendance was too low. Even though he did well in the final exams, the low attendance forbids him from graduation. Also, he sometimes went to save Nishinoya from the battles, but ended up mixing into them and beating up people...

And so, the "High Kings" of school were present for another more year.

"Let's stop talking about me. What took you so long?" Hinata finally asked, making the other two to stop their argument. They had almost arrived at their favorite spot - the tree in the middle of the school yard. The three of them sat down and took their lunches. Only Hinata's was a bento-box, though. The other two had bought an pan from the cafeteria.

"Ah..." Nishinoya said while taking a bite from his bread. He then pointed at Kenma. "This guy got called by a second year girl." The ruffle-head smirked. Hinata glanced at Kenma with widened eyes. The other boy was eating his bread with collected look, as if nothing had happened.

"So, what happened? Could it be... a confession?" Hinata's eyes started to shine as excitement filled his body. Kenma glanced at the boy who was waiting for him to answer. Hinata was like a little puppy.

"Something like that." The boy muttered while finishing his bread. After that he took a sip from his coffee.

Hinata smiled. "So, what did you answer to her?"

Kenma stopped for a moment and turned to look at his friend. Hinata was little startled of the intensity of Kenma's stare. Finally, the taller boy changed his attention back to the coffee. "I told her that I already have someone I care for."

"Eh? You have one? Tell me, tell me! Who is it?" Hinata got all excited and kept begging his friend. As an answer, Kenma just turned away from him and finished his coffee in one go. Trying to throw the can into nearest bin but failing, he exhaled.

Kenma stood up to pick up the can. "No way." He said when finally managing to throw the can into the bin.

Hinata pursued his lips in anger. "You're so mean!" He turned away from his friend, clearly sulking about the fact. Hinata glanced at Kenma from the corners of his eyes, hoping that Kenma would fall for his trap. But the boy didn't. He just kept staring at the leaves of the tree which were falling down.

"And you know what was the most amusing fact." Nishinoya laughed, turning Hinata's attention to him. "She was the most popular girl in the second year, Aizawa Hinori." The boy blushed just at the mention of the name.

Hinata was amazed, to think that Kenma had just been confessed to, and by the most popular second year too. He didn't completely understand why he had turned her down, but Kenma did say that he had someone he loved. It was better to turn her down right away, than have her suffer the whole time because he couldn't return her feelings. Kenma always thought of others feelings, and that was what Hinata liked in Kenma.

"Oh, it's Natsu-chan." Kenma muttered when he saw a ginger bush which didn't belong to Hinata. The other two boys immediately glanced towards the direction he was looking at.

"Speaking of popular, here comes the idol of our school!" Nishinoya's mood pumped up just by the sight of Natsu. They watched as the girl walked forward following a taller student who was wearing gakuran. "Eh, is that a third year student? Could this be a confession?"

"EHH?" Hinata screamed - his sister was being confessed to... AGAIN? It was the fourth time this week. Nishinoya's eyes shined and he followed the couple. Hinata - not wanting to be left out - followed him while dragging Kenma along. The trio was lurking from the brush, spying at the third year boy and first year girl.

"Why are we doing this?" Kenma asked, feeling uncomfortable for ease dropping into other people's business.

"Shh. Natsu is known for turning down every boy who confesses to her. Maybe this one will have some luck." Nishinoya said, excitement filling his voice. Actually he was the one who started his whole loop by confessing to Natsu on the first day of her high school life. Most boys didn't even confess because they liked her; this was their only chance to talk to the girl who was the schools idol.

"I guess the third years are getting desperate, because the year is ending soon..." Kenma mumbled, taking out his smart phone. He wasn't interested in the confession scene, so he decided to play a game.

"She will turn him down."

"What?" Nishinoya was surprised when he heard Hinata speaking.

"Natsu already has a boyfriend." The ginger-head was death serious as he spoke those words.

"EH? You mean the idol already has someone she's see-!" Nishinoya's voice rose, but Hinata and Kenma managed to cover his mouth just in time. Still Natsu managed to overhear the boys and glanced at the brush. She snapped out of it when the boy asked for her answer.

"Calm down a little!" Hinata whispered.

"Who is he? The man she's dating!" Nishinoya rambled. He had always been sure that Natsu had none and boasted of the fact that he was the first one to confess to her. But this matter changed things in many ways.

"I haven't met him yet, but I heard that he's older." Hinata confessed.

Nishinoya was in shock. His face turned pale. "Natsu! How could you do this to me!? And with an older man!" He started crying and cursed the person who she was dating. Hinata sighed and glanced at Kenma. With a small nod of agreement the two boys then dragged Nishinoya out of the place before Natsu would discover them.

After turning down the third year, Natsu walked to the bush where Hinata and the others had hidden. "You know Nii-san, it's not nice to spy on your little sister." She then chuckled and headed towards her classroom when the bell rang.

* * *

It was the final break. Hinata collected his stuff to his bag and headed towards the next class. It was his elective subject and the only lesson he had together with Nishinoya and Kenma. He was supposed to meet up with the boys, but before that he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

"Ano... Hinata-senpai."

Hinata turned around, searching for the source of the voice. Finally, he saw a girl standing before him, staring at the ground. She was wearing green slippers which implied that she was a second year. What was she going in the third years building?

"Me- Me?" Hinata finally mumbled, pointing at himself.

The girl turned her head, her face glowing crimson red. She pressed her legs together and moved her fingers anxiously. "You are, Hinata Shoyo-senpai, right?" At Hinata's nod the girl then continued. "I would like to speak with you."

Hinata's head was filled with multiple different thoughts, but there was one superior to the others. As they walked outside and towards the spot he had just seen Natsu being confessed at, he was getting sure of it. It had to be a confession.

Finally, the girl stopped and turned to Hinata. The boy stopped immediately, his whole face getting red just by the thought that he was going to be confessed at. He gulped loudly and stared as the girl tried to put her feelings into words. What was he going to say to her?"

"I- I like Hinata-senpai. Would you go out with me?" The girl finally managed spell out, her whole face tomato red. She closed her eyes, her body trembling as she waited for Hinata to answer her.

Since the very beginning Hinata knew what he was going to answer. He finally understood Kenma's words. It was hard to turn down a person, maybe Natsu felt this badly when she turned down all the boys who confessed their love to her? He gathered his courage.

"I'm sorry, but I already have someone I care for." Hinata answered, using the same words as Kenma. He watched - his whole body aching - as the girls eyes were filled with tears. Just how hard it was to turn down a person? Hinata bit his lip to be able to calm down even a little.

After sobbing for minutes, the girl then dried her eyes. With hiccupping, she then asked. "Could the person who you like be Kozume-senpai?"

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. What was this person talking about? "No, no. I'm straight! Where have you heard such thing?" He explained, trying to stay sane. First he was isolated and now people thought that he was gay, how the heck people came up with these rumors?

"Everyone in the school says that you two are a thing. Kozume-senpai is always staring at you... My friend just confessed to Kozume-senpai a while ago and he had told exactly the same thing. So I thought that maybe the rumors were true..." The girl explained.

"Definitely not! I'm straight and only like girls! There is nothing going between me and Kenma-san. Be sure to tell that to everyone else as well. I've had enough of these ridiculous rumors!" the boy explained. With awkward air surrounding them, they both excused themselves and the girl ran away.

With that Hinata finally headed towards the next classroom. When he had almost reached the classroom he saw Nishinoya and Kenma walking before him. He called for them and Nishinoya immediately answered to his call.

"Shoyo! Where were you? When we went to pick you up you had already left the classroom." The boy scolded the ginger-head.

"Were you bullied by someone?" Kenma asked out of concern.

"Eh? Something like that happened? Shoyo it is true! If it is, I'll go and punch that person right away!" Nishinoya's eyes were filled with anger and he was emitting dark aura. Hinata had to do his best to calm the older boy down.

"It's nothing like that..." He told and tried to come up with an excuse. "I just had the sudden urge to... go to toilet!" The boy then said. There was no way he would tell about the confession. This was one of the things he couldn't possibly tell to his friends.

Especially Kenma.

Hinata glanced at the blonde boy and gulped. Was the rumor true...?

Was Kenma in love with him?

* * *

A smile escaped from Hinata's lips when he heard the last bell ringing. Another school day was finally over, and like every others he had survived it. As third years had already retired from club activities, Hinata headed towards the school lockers.

He saw Natsu waiting for him next to the lockers. The girl waved at him and ran to her older brother. "Shall we go?" Natsu asked and Hinata immediately nodded. Natsu had been the manager of volleyball club, but as her popularity gathered around people who weren't even interested in the sport, she soon quit it. Now she was in the home-going-club and the amount of volleyball club members had almost halved.

When the sibling duo was walking down the road, Natsu suddenly glanced at her older brother. "You know Nii-san, it's not nice to stalk people." She muttered, lowering her voice to a dangerous tone. Hinata sweat dropped. Just like he had thought, Natsu had heard them.

"I'm sorry..." He tried to come up with something more, but failed greatly.

Natsu closed her eyes. "I'm not angry." Well Hinata knew that she wouldn't be, that's what made her Natsu. "Nii-san knows that I'm dating Shi-chan, so you knew that I would turn him down anyway." The girl laughed aloud while picking up her pace.

"Speaking of Shi-chan." Natsu stopped suddenly, making Hinata almost crash on her. The girl turned to her older brother, her eyes gleaming like to pearls. "I promised to meet him today." A light blush appeared on her cheeks and she turned away to hide her embarrassment.

Hinata stared at his younger sister. "I'll take you to the meeting place. I also want to meet this boyfriend of yours." He told with serious expression.

Natsu turned to him surprise written all over her face. The siblings stared at each other and when Natsu read the determination and concern in Hinata's eyes, she laughed. "Mo-o, you're still over-protective like always... Do as you want." Despite her first words, she still didn't shake him off.

When Natsu was ten years old, she had been kidnapped twice. Ever since the second incident, Hinata never let her go outside on her own during night time; he always accompanied his younger sister. There was always someone with Natsu, if not Hinata or their father then it was her boyfriend.

In addition to this, Hinata also had another reason. He wanted to meet Natsu's boyfriend. Due to the age difference of five years, the couple kept their relationship secret till Natsu finally turned eighteen. The age difference also made impossible for them to meet often.

Finally the siblings arrived at the meeting place, which was in a plaza under a clock tower. Natsu glanced around with worried looks trying to catch a glimpse of her boyfriend. Maybe he had forgotten that they were supposed to meet. Her expression was turning worried.

"Natsu-chan, you're mean. We meet for the first time in months and you bring a man along with you. Am I not good enough for you?"

Natsu cried of relief when she finally heard familiar voice speaking. She turned towards the voice and with teary eyes ran to hug her boyfriend. "Shi-chan! I missed you so much! I wanted to see you!" The girl completely overflowed with emotions of love.

Hinata stared at the man who was wearing business suit. It was clearly obvious that he earned well and was most likely a businessman - the suit gave him away. His features made him look very kind. He was wearing smile on his face, even his brown eyes smiled. He had short light hair and eyebrows and also had mole under his left eye.

When the couple finally parted their ways, Natsu gave a quick kiss to the man. After that she turned around and stopped when she saw her older brother standing frozen while staring at her. Their expressions were speechless - Hinata didn't know what to say, and Natsu looked as if she had just remembered that her brother was still present.

"Ah, right... Nii-san..." The girl whispered.

She then turned to look at the man next to her. "Shi-chan, this man is my older brother Hinata Shoyo." She introduced her older brother to her boyfriend. When the two mem glanced at each other they both smiled and nodded their heads.

"Nii-san, this is Sugawara Koushi. The man I love." Natsu blushed, taking hold of Sugawara's hand.

When first meeting the man Hinata had so many questions in his mind he wanted to ask. Natsu's words - the love and trust she had for this man - made them fade away in instant. He thought it would be better if he didn't bother them anymore. He had seen what he wanted and was happy with the result.

"I guess I should get going now. Be sure to come back home before night." The older boy said goodbye to his younger sister. When turning around and walking away from the couple he was smiling widely. He was so happy for his sister.

What he didn't know - what he wouldn't have believed even if someone had warned him - was that this would be the last time he saw his little sister alive.


	4. The Lost Connections

"I'm home." Hinata whispered to empty house completely aware that no one would answer him. The ginger-head closed the door behind him and took off his shoes. Before doing anything else, he went straight upstairs to change his school uniform.

The boy threw his bag to the floor and sighed loudly while taking of his gakuran. He took a white T-shirt with 'Volleyball' written on the back and slipped it's opening through his head. Last, he put on black sweatpants with orange coloring and headed down stairs.

Before entering the living room he stopped in front of a mirror. Hinata desperately tried to straighten his natural bush, but the hair just wouldn't listen to him. With a defeated sigh he let the hair be and sat on the couch in the living room.

Searching for the remote control and when finally finding it Hinata turned on the TV. It was really boring to be alone at home... he didn't like the feeling at all. It made him feel like he was the only person in the world. Browsing through the channels helped him to kill some time.

 _"Lions are big cat animals who-"_ he immediately switched the channel. At that very moment he wasn't interested in biology or geography, let alone an animal world.

_"-Naruko-kun... I love you!"_

_"Me too Sayaka-chan. There is no one in the world who I treasure as much as I-"_

No, definitely this wasn't the best time to be watching a drama. The confession and rumor about Kenma was so clearly in his head that he needed something else to get it out of his mind. And watching drama wasn't the best choice - it would only remind him of it even more.

Hinata browsed through the channels, there was a police drama, the news, commercials, drama, idol shows, live action, a soccer match and more drama.

_"-And Yoshioka-seishun steals the ball and runs down the field on his ow-"_

Hinata turned off the TV. He threw the remote away and slid down the couch, his eyes staring at the ceiling. There was nothing worth of watching; soccer was the very last thing the ginger-head would want to watch. Because of the schools PE lessons, he had came to dislike the sport.

And there was no volleyball tournament going on.

The boy pulled himself off the couch and stood up. He felt his stomach grumbling and decided to search for something to eat.

In one of the closets he found a cup noodles, they would be perfect enough to satisfy his hunger before his parents return and they could have dinner. Hinata boiled the water and waited for the noodles to be done. Not taking his attention away from the cup, Hinata reached to get a glass for milk.

Out of carelessness his hand missed the glass and something fell down and scattered into pieces around the kitchen. Hinata jumped in a startled movement and dropped the cup of noodles he was holding in his other hand - it ended up having the same fate as the dish. Perfect, not only he had broken something - his meal was spoiled as well.

The boy sighed. "This is so my luck."

He started to gather the pieces of the broken dish only to have his fingers cut. Hinata pulled back his hand and glanced at his arm. Three of his finger had been cut, blood-drops formed to the cuts. The ginger-head quickly licked his cut fingers and continued to gather the broken pieces.

When he had finally gathered all the pieces he could find Hinata glanced at the dish. His eyes widened when he realized that he had just broken Natsu's favorite rice bowl. Natsu surely wouldn't be happy to hear about it - nor would she be angry, though.

Hinata stared at the rice bowl and then at the three cuts on his fingers. Finally his glance turned to the clock. It was 5pm. The ginger-head gulped loudly. For some reason he didn't have a good feeling about it. The broken dish and the cuts felt like a bad omen.

Hinata then shook his head and smacked his face. It was nothing to worry about, everything would surely be alright; with that mind-set he put plasters on his cuts and continued cleaning the kitchen, which was full of noodles.

"Yosh!" Hinata smiled proudly when he had finally finished cleaning the kitchen. It was even cleaner than it had been before he made the mess. Stretching his arms he fell on the couch while exhaling in exhaustion. Was cleaning always this tiring?

Just as Hinata managed to close his eyes to take a short nap, he heard the house phone ringing. "Who could it be calling at this hour?" he wondered as his parents were still working. Maybe it was Natsu, Hinata thought as he reached for the phone.

"This is the Hinata household" the ginger head answered with a cheery voice.

The other side was silent.

"Excuse me. Who is this calling? Hello?" Hinata questioned as he recieved no answer. He heard some kind of strange noises and finally someone spoke in a quiet voice.

_"This is Kenma..."_

Hinata was surprised to receive a call from Kenma. It wasn't very often when the blonde boy would call to him; Nishinoya did it almost every day as he asked Hinata to accompany him with volleyball training. As Hinata didn't own his own cellphone the boys called the house phone regularly.

"Yes, what is it?" The boy asked, being relieved to know the caller.

 _"Could we... meet?"_ Was Kenma's quiet question, which seemed to Hinata as if the boy was putting all of his effort and courage to ask it.

The rumor of Kenma's feelings towards him immediately filled Hinata's head. Was the other boy going to confess to him? His head was filled with loads of questions and thoughts.

In the end Hinata shook them off and collected his emotions. He shouldn't get ahead of things. Maybe Kenma was calling because he had troubles and here Hinata was already thinking of a confession. He should just go and see what Kenma wanted.

"Sure! How about we meet at Hato-Park at seven?" Hinata suggested. It was the closet place for both so they often decided to meet there. Hinata didn't see a reason why they shouldn't meet there.

The other side was silent. Hinata waited for Kenma's answer.

_"...Okay..."_

When the other boy finally gave an answer Hinata's smile widened. "Then see you there!" He laughed happily. After Kenma answered with a short 'Yeah' then Hinata turned off the call.

He quickly ran to upstairs to put on his plain colored hoodie and then ran out the door to meet his friend. Before stepping out of the house he glanced at the clock. It showed quarter to seven.

* * *

 It didn't take long for Hinata to arrive at the park. It was close to his house so it took about five minutes to arrive by walking. If he had run it would've taken only a minute or two.

Hinata was sure that he was the first one to arrive; after all it was still 10 minutes till their appointed time. For that very reason Hinata was surprised when he saw Kenma leaning against the tree at the side of the park.

"Yo! Kenma-san." Hinata called out for the boy. When Kenma noticed the ginger-head running towards him, he turned to Hinata, paused his Mp3-player and took off his earphones. The older boy showed a weak smile.

"How'd you get here this early?" Hinata asked when he had reached Kenma. The boy's home should be at least 15 minutes away from the Hato-Park. Even by running it should take more than half the time - and Kenma wasn't a fast runner so he shouldn't have made it before Hinata.

"I was in the convenience store nearby... that's why..." The blonde told him and took a sip from the coffee can he was holding in his hands. He then opened his backpack and took out a meat bun. Kenma glanced at Hinata with a questioning look if the ginger-head wanted some.

"No thanks." The younger boy replied. In truth he was hungry because the noodles ended up as a disaster and he hadn't managed to eat anything, but he thought that it would be better to wait for his mother to arrive home and have a proper dinner since it wouldn't take any longer. She usually arrived home by seven so most likely they would have dinner ready by the time he arrived home.

Kenma glanced at the meat bun in his hand looking a little disappointed. He then put the additional one to back to his bag and opened the one in his hands and slowly he started eating.

Hinata stared at his friend as he stuffed the meat bun into his mouth. As the silence was getting disturbing - well it was always that way with Kenma - he decided to start a conversation. "You're on your way to prep school, right?"

Kenma gave a small nod as he finished his meat bun. He then took the coffee can and drank from it till it was empty. Hinata smiled at the blonde. He was happy that his friend had a clear goal for his future.

Since the start of his fourth year Kenma had told him that he was going to enter a university in Tokyo - it was called Nekoma, if he remembered it right. Since at the start Kenma's grades weren't high enough to pass to the university he had studied hard and taken prep lessons the whole year in order to get to the school he wanted.

In Hinata's case, he wasn't so sure what he wanted to do in the future. He wasn't good enough in volleyball to be scouted into a school like Nishinoya, so most likely he was going to take entrance exams to the nearest university which was Karasuno University - KaraUni for short. He had heard that despite the scouting Nishinoya was going to enter KaraUni, because it was close to his house. Well, they did have a team which made it to the top 8 in the Inter-high so it wouldn't be a complete waste of university life.

"Are to still aiming for Nekoma?" The ginger-head then asked. He would've liked so much to stay near Kenma and Nishinoya as they were his only friends. What would he do if they both disappeared from his life?

Kenma glanced at Hinata and nodded. "The entrance exam is in two weeks. If I pass I move there after graduation ceremony."

A weak smile appeared on Hinata's when he heard his friend's words, so in the end he was going separate ways with Kenma. He did have Nishinoya with him, but somehow things would definitely be different without Kenma.

A silence fell upon the duo and Hinata tried to quickly come up with a topic. "Oh, you know. Today I finally met Natsu's boyfriend. He was such a fine man, what was his name again..."

A light smile appeared on Kenma's face when he stared at the excited Hinata. He closed his eyes and prayed for the best to happen. This was the moment which could change his relationship with Hinata... forever. "Shoyo-"

"Right! It was Sugawara Koushi. Can you believe he was even wearing a suit-"

_"Shoyo."_

Hinata quieted down when he heard Kenma calling him for the second time. The blonde boy's cat-like eyes were sharper than usual - they were gleaming with determination. If Hinata was right, he could also feel a hint of fear glowing from them. He gulped loudly; why was Kenma so serious? He had never acted this way.

"Shoyo... I..." Kenma took a step ahead to which Hinata unconsciously responded by taking a step back. He was shaken by the sudden change in his friend's behavior. This serious mood could only mean one thing; the very thing he had tried to deny.

"I love you." Kenma finally managed to say. As the silence fell upon the park, Hinata saw as his friend's cheeks slowly turned different shades of red. "Not as a friend. I have a crush on you as a man." The blonde corrected so that Hinata wouldn't mistake his feelings.

Slowly he closed his eyes to wait for the answer, his whole body shaking in fear. He had taken a huge risk on confessing his feelings to the ginger-head, but he had no other choice. This was most likely the only time he could be with him; soon they would be separated... Now there was no turning back, he could only face forward and wait for Hinata's answer.

After the shock of being confessed and having millions of thoughts running in his head - like the rumor about Kenma was real - Hinata finally managed to calm down. He had to admit that being confessed by Kenma was even scarier than rejecting the second year girl. After all what his response to Kenma would change their relationship - forever. After this, their relationship would most likely never return to what it used to be.

Kenma must have been aware of it, and still he had taken the courage to confess to Hinata. The boy was amazed by how much courage his friend had and respected the older boy even more now. That's why it hurt him to say the following words. It hurt even more than it had with the second year. His whole body ached and he felt like his heart was bursting out of his chest.

Hinata closed his eyes and bit his lip with all strength to stop the pain inside him. He inhaled and with a determined look and stared at Kenma, who had his eyes open. When the blonde squinted to see the other boy, he was shocked to see Hinata's expression.

The ginger-head closed his eyes and smiled. "I really appreciate your feelings, it is wonderful to hear that someone in this world is in love with a person like me." The boy then kept a short pause and his expression saddened a little. Why did he have to say these words to his best friend? He didn't want to hurt Kenma.

"But I don't see you that way. I only see you as a friend." Hinata stated, lowering his head as he was afraid to see Kenma's expression, with trembling hands he then added. "I'm straight. I only like girls."

Kenma felt his eyes watering. He had expected to be rejected by Hinata, but the reality hurt him even more than he could imagine. Especially Hinata's last words pierced right through his heart. It was as if Hinata was mocking him for not being straight; as if it was wrong to like the same sex.

"How do you know?" Was a slow whisper which Hinata heard. He opened his eyes and saw Kenma staring at him with murderous expression in his eyes. The pupils of his cat-eye like eyes were so small and sharp that Hinata could barely see them. They were flaming with pure anger.

"How can you know that you're straight? Have you ever fallen in love with someone?" Kenma suddenly reached towards Hinata. He took hold of the younger boy and pushed him against a tree, Hinata's head smashing against it. Hinata gasped for air as the sudden smash had emptied his lungs.

"Kenma...-san..." The boy begged panting hard, but it seemed that Kenma had turned into a completely different person. He was no longer the kind and quiet Kenma he knew. It was as if his friend had been possessed by a vengeful ghost.

"How can you be so sure when you have never fallen in love?!" The blonde yelled, pushing Hinata's shoulders against the tree. Just the strong hold of Kenma made Hinata cry in pain, the hit in his head made his vision blurry and Hinata felt as his mind was blanking out.

For the very moment he closed his eyes, Hinata saw an image appearing before his eyes. It was the same scene as in his dream. He could barely keep his eyes open. Somewhere in the distance he saw the same dark-haired child and Natsu standing before him. His eyes closed and he used all of his strength to open them.

It felt hot, his body ached. Just as he was about to give up to the pain, Hinata heard a voice yelling.

_"It's because I love him!"_

At that very moment an image of the black-haired person appeared before him.

Out of instinct, Hinata used his remaining strength to push Kenma away from him. The ginger-head was panting hard.

Hinata didn't know who the person was, but it felt so close. As if it was closer than just 'a friend." A person whom he most likely loved - or at least had loved. The ginger-head then shook his head. What was he thinking, getting so worked up by a mere dream?

Finally Hinata returned back to reality when he saw Kenma lying on the ground with hurtful look on his face. The boy was stunned and shocked at the same time; but he also felt guilty for what he had done to Hinata.

The boys shared a short stare.

"Shoyo, I..."

"I'm sorry!" Hinata interrupted Kenma's apology and ran off on his own, leaving the blonde in the park, heartbroken and full of guilt. While drying his eyes Kenma took his backpack and headed towards his prep school. Most likely, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on the lesson.

Hinata ran with his strength all while drying the watering eyes with his sleeve. His whole body hurt - especially his shoulders - his head was still aching and pulsating with unbearable pain and what more, his heart hurt.

He hadn't wanted to part with Kenma in such way. He just hadn't expected the boy to attack him like that - maybe it was the punishment for lying. Never had he been so scared, and the fact that he had been scared of his friend feared him even more. He felt so nasty and guilty inside him as if he was tainted.

He felt like throwing up.

* * *

"I'm home." Hinata sniffed with small voice when slowly opening the front door. He had made sure to rub the water out of his eyes before entering the house, but he guessed that it still would be clear to his mother that he had crying no matter how much he tried to hide the fact. Let's say - maternal instinct.

"Shoyo!" Was a cheery answer he got from his mother when the boy entered the living room. "We're having curry today. Hurry up go to shower and join us for dinner." The woman told her son adding that Hinata throw the hoodie to washing machine.

"Where's Natsu?" Hinata heard his old man asking, as he kept browsing through the channels. Like during the day, it seemed as if nothing worth watching was going on. Finally the man stopped to check the news.

"She's with a friend. She'll most likely eat with her so we can start without Natsu." Hinata answered, lying to his parents. It was an agreement from both sides that they would keep Natsu's relationship with Sugawara a secret, at least t until Natsu was eighteen. The reason was - but of course - because Hinata's father was even more over-protective over his daughter than Hinata. He would most likely hunt Sugawara down until the end of the world if he was to be introduced to the family.

Hinata shook his head at the thought of it. He didn't even want to think of all the possibilities of what their father would do if he found of that Natsu had a boyfriend. Especially now that she had a fiancé-

Hinata froze.

Hinata's over-protective father was actually marrying off his daughter - _on his own will._

The boy walked to the window and checked to see if he saw any cows flying. Well of course there wasn't any cows flying - what was he even thinking? With a sigh, the boy then left to his room to change clothes and prepare for a bath.

He was only mid-way up the stairs when the phone suddenly rang.

"Shoyo can you pick it up?" He heard his mother asking. The boy answered with 'Yes' and rushed to the phone.

"This is Hinata's-" the boy answered only to have the other line speaking on top of him.

 _"Are you Natsu's older brother?"_   The voice, which obviously belonged to an older man, asked. He needed just a split second to realize who of three members of the Hinata family it was.

"Yes." Hinata answered. He wondered who the person was? He had mentioned Natsu name - the voice also sounded familiar, but this time it was more desperate and worried. The man also seemed to be panting.

 _"This Sugawara Koushi speaking, we met earlier today."_   The man introduced himself and Hinata finally recognized him as Natsu's boyfriend. _"I'm calling from Natsu's mobile phone."_   Sugawara explained.

Hinata heard as the older man suddenly quieted down. He stopped talking to catch air. Finally he heard Sugawara continuing. _"We're with Natsu at Akazora. She... Natsu was shot."_

The phone dropped on the floor as Hinata's eyes widened in shock. Natsu had been attacked - once again. It was for this very reason that Natsu had cell phone while Hinata still didn't - he was going to buy one once he got accepted into university. She was always attacked by strangers so this was the best way to get in touch with her.

But this time, they had been late.

"Shoyo, what is it? Why do you look so shocked?" Hinata could barely hear his mother's voice as his head was filled with Natsu and the worry of what had happened to his younger sister. He was angry at himself. Why he was never present when something bad happened to her? What was the point of protecting her if he couldn't even do it properly?

His intuition about the rice bowl and cuts had been right - they really were a bad omen. Hinata glanced at the clock; half past seven.

"Shoyo, what's going on? Has something happened?" The faint voice repeated.

He had no more minutes to lose. He headed towards the front door to put on his shoes.

"Shoyo, where are you going? The dinner is soon!"

Hinata dashed out of the house with full speed.

_"Shoyo!"_

* * *

 A pair of men suited in formal suits walked down a hall which lead to a restaurant called Akazora. The younger man had blonde hair and was wearing a headband. He was chewing a lit cigarette and had his hands crossed behind his back. "Man, why have we been called here even though we're from the Abnormal Crimes Department?" Ukai Kenshin sighed as his cigarette had finally burned completely.

The older and head shorter man next to him, who had messy black hair and was wearing glasses answered to him with serious tone. "We were the closest to this place! It doesn't matter which kind of crime has happened, work is always work! Take it seriously, Kenshin-san." Takeda Ittetsu spoke, picking up his pace.

"Ah, I forgot that you're workaholic..." Kenshin sighed, throwing the cigarette to a rubbish bin they passed.

Just as Takeda was about to answer to him a small figure - even shorten than Takeda - dashed past them while panting heavily. The two of them were left stunned, staring at the after image of the person who had just ran past them. The two of them glanced at each other with widened eyes.

"Natsu!" Hinata yelled as he finally arrived at Akazora. His eyes were filled with tears - he didn't even have enough time to wipe them away. When he spotted Sugawara and Natsu lying in his arms Hinata immediately went to them. "Natsu!"

He knelt down and called for his younger sister. "Natsu!"

Sugawara, just like Hinata, was shedding tears. He looked at the older brother as he held his girlfriend's still body. "I'm sorry, Hinata-san. I couldn't protect her. Even though I was with her I couldn't do anything to protect her... I'm failure as a man..." He explained the situation, but Hinata couldn't hear him.

His whole attention was focused on Natsu. Hinata cursed himself for not being able to protect Natsu; for always being absent when something happened to her. He regretted it so much, never was he able to be there for her. He would definitely regret this his whole life.

"... She did it to protect me..."

The words caught Hinata's ears and he glanced at Sugawara turning his attention away from Natsu. "The shot was originally aimed at me, but Natsu jumped in front of me and took the shot..." The grey-haired man told and fell into despair.

"I'm such a worthless man! I need a high school girl to protect me from dying. I can't even protect the woman I love." Sugawara whined between his sobs and tightened his hold on Natsu. Hinata stared at his sister and his eyes teared up. The ambulance had already been called, but they couldn't be sure if it was able to make it in time.

"Excuse me." Hinata suddenly heard a voice speaking and he turned around. He saw two men in suits staring at him. They looked familiar, as if he had seen somewhere already. Most likely his imagination - his mind was so confused that Hinata couldn't even remember that he had passed the two men just before.

"I'm Takeda Ittetsu, a detective. And this is my partner Ukai Kenshin. We're here about the shooting incident. We have few questions." The shorten man with black hair introduced himself showing his badge. Hinata and Sugawara glanced at each other and dried their eyes.

"I'm Hinata Shoyo. The one who was shot is my younger sister Natsu. This man is Sugawara Koushi, he was accompanying my sister when the shooting incident happened." The ginger-head explained and stood up to shake hands with the two detectives.

Takeda's eyes widened in shock when he heard the names. He stared at the ginger-head duo and finally his stare changed to Sugawara. Ukai heard as his partner quietly whispered. "It's back... The Empty Vessel incident..."

What was the man talking about?

Natsu made a small movement, which immediately changed Hinata's and Sugawara's attention to the dying girl. She opened her eyes - it looked as if only that took all of her strength.

"Natsu!" Hinata and Sugawara yelled in union.

A light smile appeared on Natsu's face when she saw her older brother before her. She took a deep breath as if preparing for her last moments. Finally the girl spoke. "Nii-san, Shi-chan..." She barely managed to voice out beneath her deep and heavy breaths.

"Don't talk, Natsu! You have to save your energy!" Hinata yelled in despair, taking hold of Natsu's hand.

His sister only smiled, she was about to say something, but cried in pain as her whole body ached. Finally - after long and painful breaths - she continued. She wanted to convey these words to the men she loved more than anything.

"I love you both... very... much." And with that, the girl closed her eyes and took her last breath.

Hinata's and Sugawara's eyes filled with tears and big pearls were running down their eyes. Takeda closed his eyes while lowering his head. Even Ukai seemed to be wearing sad expression.

Hinata's reached out for Natsu and caressed her head. As the girl didn't respond to him and her chest had stopped moving, Hinata shook his head. He couldn't accept the fact. He couldn't accept the reality that his sister was no longer with him. It had all happened so unexpectedly.

_**"NATSU!"** _

The clock showed 8 hours, straight. Three hours had passed.


	5. By Any Means, NO!

_Because simply saying **I do** , is far too mainstream._

* * *

He only cried.

Sitting before Natsu's coffin and staring at the picture of his orange-bush sister smiling full of happiness, Hinata Shoyo could only cry. She was gone from his life and it was all his fault.

Hinata sniffed and wiped the tears away with his sleeve. It was no use though, as in matter of seconds his face was wet of the tears again. His cheeks were hot-red, his eyes dry and his stomach hurt from the endless crying. When had it started...? Oh, two days ago.

For two days he had cried non-stop.

Because Natsu was gone!

The ginger-head was so absorbed with crying over Natsu and blaming himself that he didn't see or remember the guest coming and going. He did remember seeing a faint figure of Nishinoya sitting beside him, his hand on Hinata's shoulder trying to comfort him. Sugawara had most likely been there too and maybe even Kenma. He wasn't sure; the ginger-head had completely lost his sense of reality.

The eldest son of Hinata family just sat, being clothed to pure white suit with matching blouse. He was also wearing black tie, but loosened it so that it wouldn't push against his adams apple. The suit was Natsu's favorite. She had always complimented how manly Hinata looked when wearing it.

"Natsu..." Hinata sniffed while looking at the picture of his younger sister. "Look, I'm wearing your favorite suit." he flashed a teeth-showing smile tears running down his cheeks. Hinata did his best to keep his composure, but almost immediately his whole body started trembling.

"... I'm wearing your... favorite suit." the boy mumbled between heavy sobs. "So... why aren't complimenting me! NATSU! Why aren't you telling me how good I look? Why aren't you smiling at me and complimenting me? Why aren't you wearing a beautiful dress to match my suit? Natsu!"

The boy quieted down and only tears were dropping down soaking his fists.

"-Why aren't you here with me...?"

He wasn't sure how many minutes or hours had passed. He didn't know how many guests had visited his sister. All of a sudden the house was completely silent. He and his parents were the only living souls in the house. The three of them were accompanied by the dead body of the Hinata family's daughter, Natsu.

"Shoyo..." Hinata finally snapped out of it when he heard his mother calling for him. He looked around himself and realized that all the guests had already left. He then turned back to his mother. The womens eyes were red and she had bags under them. She was wearing sad expression. "Come to the kitchen. Otoo-san and Okaa-san have something to tell you."

Hinata stood up only to fall on his knees again. He had sat on his leg for so long that they had already gone completely numb. The boy struggled up and somehow made it to the kitchen. He sighed of relief when he finally managed to sat down on the chair. The boy then closed one of his eyes trying to bear the tingling that filled his leg; an after effect of numbness.

The parents patiently waited as their son tried gather himself together. When the tingling was finally gone, Hinata was finally able to concentrate on what his parents were about to say. He dried his eyes and exhaled loudly. After that his brown-colored eyes got solemn.

The father then broke the serious silence in the Hinata household. "I really don't want be saying this as we're currently in the middle of mourning." the man said, glancing at his son. "But the Kageyama family has announced for the wedding to be held tomorrow."

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? Natsu is dead and they still plan on having the wedding?" his reaction was kinda small. This surprised even the parents; and Hinata himself. In normal situation he would've gone all rampage about the news, but at the moment he was too tired to be surprised or fight back.

"The contract was written in terms that under no circumstances the wedding is going to get cancelled. We can't do possibly anything else but to have someone marry Kageyama Tobio. If the marriage is to be cancelled then we lose our entire property."

Hinata knew the conditions very well; that was the very reason why Natsu accepted the proposal in the first place. But now that Natsu was gone... "Who is going to marry...?" the ginger-head couldn't complete his sentence. He gulped loudly when his father glanced at him with serious and apologetic look. His stomach started to hurt.

"I think it should be someone who is closest to Natsu... and who resembles her very much." the father spoke lowering his head. Hinata saw from the corners of his eyes as his mother patted the mans shoulders. She shot a sad glance at her son. Her eyes were full of grief and condolence.

Hinata's eyes widened as his mouth opened wide open. "Are you saying that... me?" the boy asked. His father still refused to look at his son. Hinata turned to his mother who closed her eyes while nodding. The boy was dumbstruck.

"How..." his voice disappeared beneath his whisper. "How possibly can I marry someone instead of my sister? And more over a man!" the boy rebelled, finally getting some of his powers back. "There is no way I can get married to ma-!"

His sentence was cut short as the head of Hinata family slammed his hands on the table, snapping. "THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! You are our only help to keep this family together! I allow no more complains! You'll be the one stepping on the altar in your sisters stead. This discussion is over!"

For the first time in his life the man had raised his voice and yelled at his own son. Hinata immediately quieted down, his eyes trembling in horror of his fathers never before seen behavior. When the man saw the terror of his own son, he sighed stressed and left the house to get some cigarette to calm his nerves.

Only Hinata and his mother were left inside the house. The mother walked to her son and sat to the seat next to him. She took hold of Hinata's hands and the boy turned to her. "I'm really sorry that we're bothering you at such time. You and Otoo-san are both stressed and extremely sad about Natsu's death." the woman closed her eyes as she tried to stop her tears.

Still one drop managed to roll down her cheek. Hinata wiped it away with his finger. The woman laughed lightly. "Shoyo." she then glanced at her son. "I know it's extremely hard for you to accept to be married... and to a man... But I beg you to forgive your father. He didn't want to ruin your and Natsu's life with his mistakes... but things are extremely hard for him at the moment..."

Finally the woman showed a weak smile. "If you don't have any reasons to do it... then do it for Natsu. Do it for your younger sister you love and treasure so much." she told and embraced her only son pulling his body towards her. "I and Otoo-san love you very much." she whispered into Hinata's ear.

The boys hands went numb and as they trembled he finally managed wrap them around his mother. He felt as his eyes watered and soon the boy was crying openly in his mothers embrace. "I love you too... very much."

He had decided.

He was going to do it for Natsu.

* * *

Hinata was woken up from his dream when he heard the doorbell ringing. He mumbled in half-asleep and turned to his other side. The ringer-head was just about to fall asleep, but the ringing woke him up. He sighed and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Okaa-san! Otoo-san!" the boy yelled, trying to inform his parents about the guests behind the door. Hinata was answered with a complete silence. Only the ringing kept echoing in his head.

With desperate yell of not wanting wake up but forcing himself to do it, he managed to get up. He walked down stairs in his light blue pajama yawing loudly. When Hinata reached kitchen he saw a notice on the table. It was his mothers handwriting.

_We've already went to buy clothes for wedding. Tanaka-san and Shimizu-san will pick up and get you ready. See you in the wedding hall. We love you.  
_ _Otoo-san & Okaa-san._

Once again the bell rang, alarming Hinata. He snapped out of it and headed towards the front door. He wondered who could be bothering him at such hour; it was barely eight in the morning. Somehow he had the feeling it was going to be those two his mother mentioned in the letter.

When Hinata opened the door, he saw two women standing before him. One was very short and beautiful and had short honey-colored hair and was wearing black top and skinny jeans. She had her arms crossed around her chest and looked annoyed. The other person looked petite and shy; she had shoulder length dark hair and glasses. Her cheeks were burning red and she tried to calm down the other person.

"It was about the time! I was getting impatient!" the former woman told and grabbed Hinata's arm. "Kiyoko-chan, we're taking him!" without letting Hinata to say anything she then dragged Hinata into a car and threw him to back seat. She herself went to the drivers seat and started the car when her accompanist was inside.

"Who are you? Where are you taking me to?" the poor confused boy, who was wearing nothing more than simple pajamas asked, eyes wide open. He received an angry glare through the rear-view mirror but then the woman smirked.

"Tanaka Saeko, barber-in-training. And she's Shimizu Kiyoko, a daughter of Shinshoku." Saeko introduced herself and Kiyoko turned to Hinata while nodding shyly. With her whole face red, she then turned back forward. Saeko laughed. "She's little shy."

"We're your bridesmaids and in charge of your dress. And so we're heading to buy you a wedding dress." Saeko then continued as they stopped in red lights. She waited, tapping her finger at the steering wheel, impatiently glaring at the lights. When they finally changed to green she pressed the gas pedal with all of her power and the car sped up. Truly she wasn't an ecological - or economical - driver.

"Wedding dress?" Hinata asked in disbelieve as he was pulled back by the sudden pressure. "What the hell do I need dress? I can understand if you said a suit, but DRESS?" the boy wasn't yet aware of the upcoming tragedy and torture he was going to face.

Saeko glanced at him, taking her attention from the road (well it was going straight for kilometers, so she had no worries). "Wait you mean... your parents didn't tell you? That you're going to marry Kageyama..."

"Of course I know it! I'm fully aware of my situation, but why the heck do I need a DRESS? Isn't suit enough? I'm not a girl!" the boy interrupted Saeko, which made the older woman to pull a nerve. Why he didn't care to listen to her explanation?

"Let me finish my sentence first. You're going to marry Kageyama Tobio as Hinata Natsu, got that! That's why you need a dress." her explanation was short and simple, but it took far too many seconds for Hinata to analyze and assimilate her words.

"So I'm going to be..."

"A girl." Kiyoko ended Hinata's sentence for him as she saw that he was unable complete it. Hinata's eyes glazed and he fell back staring at the air with blank look.

"Ah, we're here!" Saeko informed everyone happily as if she hadn't heard Hinata's words. She stopped the car and forced the horrified boy out of the car. When she stared at Hinata wobbling as he tried to walk being able to remain his balance thanks to Kiyoko's help, she puffed and sighed loudly. She knew it was going to be hard, but to think it was actually this hard.

The shop for wedding dresses was located just next to wedding hall. The trio went inside and Saeko immediately started to look for a dress which would suit Hinata. "Say Kiyoko-chan, what kind of dress would suit him... I mean her?" she walked around the shop measuring all the different beautiful dresses.

Kiyoko glanced at Hinata - who looked as if he had his soul sucked out of him - and tried to imagine him in a wedding dress. Finally she found perfect image and she mumbled. "Shiromuku..."

Saeko's eyes widened for a second when she heard the name of the traditional Japanese wedding dress. It was an absurd and unexpected choice as nowadays it was popular to use western-type wedding dresses. As it was coming from a daughter of shrine head, she should've not been surprised, though.

"Let's do that! Kiyoko call the groom. He should get himself a matching outfit. Tell him that it's an order from me and if he doesn't listen I will hunt him down to earth!" Saeko told and when the shop assitant came to ask if they needed any help, she wondered if the dress had any traditional dresses. The shop assitant then told that they did have them and guided the trio to the section where they were.

While Saeko tried to find a fitting dress for Hinata - who was still unable to think straight - Kiyoko made call to the groom. After few beeps the other line picked up. "Oi, what the heck are you thinking, calling to me at this hour?" the groom was obviously annoyed - he let even few curse words.

Kiyoko waited for the other person to calm down and then spoke. "You need to change your suit to traditional one. It's an order from Saeko-san." the dark-haired girl told quietly. She then waited, knowing that the man would definitely rage. It was better to take off the phone from her ear.

"What the heck do you mean I need to change the suit? Do you know how frigging hard it was to find a fitting one and now you're telling me to change it!? No way in hell! I paid for it far too much to change it even if it's an order from Tanaka..." and he continued.

Saeko glanced at Kiyoko, who shook her head. The honey-haired girl sighed and walked to her partner and took the phone from her. "YOU BRAT DO AS I SAY OR YOU'RE DEATH MEAT! Don't you even dare to think that you can ruin the perfect image Kiyoko-chan has of the wedding couple. NOW INSTEAD OF NAGGING ABOUT MEANINGLESS THINGS GET YOUR ASS MOVING AND BUY THE FUCKING DRESS!" with that, Saeko cut off the call.

This was just perfect. The groom was annoyed and the bride didn't have soul in her. It was like the image of her worst nightmare. She needed to do something to save the situation. "Kiyoko-chan, help me to pick up the dress."

It took them about half an hour, or maybe whole hour - Hinata wasn't sure because he had literally fallen into coma - before they found a dress which Saeko and Kiyoko both approved. Hinata's opinion wasn't even valid, because he was a man - well he would've been okay with any dress anyway, so it was for the better. Saeko paid for it and the trio headed towards the wedding hall. They needed to get Hinata ready for the ceremony.

Saeko was surprised how easily Hinata let them dress him up and fix his hair. First they put on Shiro-Kakeshita and tied it up with an Obi. On top of it they layered a Shiromuku without an Obi.

Saeko added hairpieces to Hinata's hair so that it now reached till his mid-back. She decorated his head with a Bunkin Takashimada - a bridal high topknot - on top what they put Tsunokakushi, which had a hood-like head covering.

When the dress was complete it was time for the make up. Saeko and Kiyoko walked Hinata - who took one step ahead as if he was a stone - and seated him down. The boy stared forward with blank expression as Kiyoko worked on his make up. He didn't even bug or protest when she put on mascara - he followed their every command.

"We're finally ready and just in time." Saeko smiled when Kiyoko put the finishing touch on Hinata. He had pale face, with red cheeks. His eyelids were also colored faintly red towards the corner and he had matching lipstick. Finally, the bride was ready.

"But it's worrying to have him in such state..." they really couldn't have a robot like bride who listened to everyone's command and didn't have a mind of his own. Kiyoko glanced at Saeko. "What do we do?"

The honey-head shrugged and turned to the boy sitting before them. Hinata was wearing blank expression and was staring into emptiness. "Oi, ginger-push." the woman said and Hinata immediately turned his head towards them. His brown-colored eyes had lost their shine and color. "Come here." Saeko then continued. As the sight of Hinata standing up and walking towards them, she sighed. This wasn't going so well. Kiyoko told Hinata to return back and the boy did so.

A light knock was heard and everyone turned towards the door. When it opened a woman wearing stylish red-kimono with floral design walked into the room. Her orange-colored hair was tied up on a high bun and she was wearing kind expression. The woman bowed at Saeko and Kiyoko and then walked to her son.

"Shoyo." she called for Hinata, who immediately turned towards the source of the voice. The woman was shocked to see her son wearing such empty expression. It seemed that the news had been just a little too much for him. No one would like to pose as his younger sister. Especially when she died just few days before.

The woman knelt down and took hold of Hinata's palms, staring at his emotionless brown eyes with her matching ones. "I know that this is very hard for you. None of us was willing to do it, expect for Natsu. She was the only one who – despite disliking the idea – could accept her situation with smiling face. She was a strong person." the woman smiled at her precious son.

"Shoyo, my only and all so dear son. I hope and wish from the bottom of my heart that no matter how ugly and awful this situation seems to you... the happiness you get it multiplied by dozens and again dozens." she stood up and kissed her sons slightly red cheeks.

"I love you, Shoyo. And so does Otoo-san." Hinata heard his mother whisper into his ear. "So please forgive him." with final wish for her son's happiness she pressed their foreheads together – a good luck charm they had created.

When he felt his mother's warm forehead against his own, he felt as slowly his eyes started to tremble. The boy blinked his eyes, which looked as if they had finally gotten their life back. "Natsu... Otoo-san... Okaa-san." with the last word he raised his head and saw his mother smiling kindly at him.

He felt his eyes watering and was already giving up to the temptation to cry, but a sudden yell from his left side stopped him. "Don't you dare to cry now after we finally managed to get your make-up done." Saeko raged at the poor boy, but inside she was relieved that they had Hinata back. Now they could start the ceremony without any worries.

Kiyoko glanced at Hinata's mother and nodded happily. She was glad that the woman had been there for them. So this was the strength of the women of Hinata house-hold. She was so beautiful and composed. Kiyoko still had so much to learn.

"I think I should go now. Good luck with everything, Shoyo. May Gods be together with you." having said everything she wanted, Hinata's mother left leaving the bride alone with the bridesmaids. Not long after she had gone a knock was heard.

"Is the bride ready? We would like to start the ceremony. The groom in already waiting." a woman none of the trio knew asked. When she got a positive answer, they all headed towards the hall where the ceremony was going to be held. Saeko and Kiyoko walked to the altar being escorted by Kageyama's best men. The groom himself walked from another entrance and Hinata was yet to see him.

The ginger-head was waiting behind closed doors his father standing next to him. The hall was filled with silence and Hinata was getting nervous. He had decided to forgive his father but it was so hard to break the ice between them.

"I've heard that men don't want daughters because they have to give them away to a man their daughter loves more than her father... But never in my life had I imagined that I would be escorting my own son to altar..." the man seemed as if he was shedding tears.

"Oi, don't dare to put it that way. This is all your fault to behind with. If not me, then it would be Natsu standing here." the ginger-head pursued his lips in anger, while watching his father wiping away the – obviously – fake tears.

"Natsu would've been okay... but to think that I'm marrying my own son to a man." the man kept speaking, obvious about the fact that he was annoying his own son. This was just how he showed his love towards his children. Such a wicked minded person.

"You say that again and as soon as this door opens I'm going to reveal to everyone that I'm actually a man." the boy's eyes were filled with pure lust wanting to reveal his secret to everyone. His father could even swear he saw flames behind his son.

"No, you wouldn't dare to do that..." the man panicked.

Hinata closed his eyes and smiled. "You're right. I love you far too much to do it." he flashed a kind smile at his Hinata having long hair and wearing a dress the man swear for a split-moment he saw his own wife standing next to him.  _"You look so much like your mother, Shoyo."_

"I love you too, Shoyo." Hinata heard his father say. As the son and father had made up, the door before them opened and the wedding music started. While Hinata was escorted to the altar he had chance to scan through the guests. He saw his mother sitting in the front row of left side, so most likely they were the guests of the brides family. He tried to search for someone of his friends but there was no one – no Nishinoya, Kenma or Sugawara. Well he would've been greatly surprised to even see the last one there...

Hinata glanced at his mother and the woman smiled kindly at him. They had finally reached the altar and his father let go of his hand. Instead the groom walked to Hinata and while nodding at the father of his bride, he then took Hinata's arm and escorted him to where the priest was.

"Dear family and friends. Today we have all gathered here in order to unite two..." the pop started the ceremony. It must have been gorgeous sight for everyone in the hall. The ceremony was held werstern-style but the wedding pair was wearing traditional clothes – Hinata in Shiromuku and Kageyama in Kimono-Hakama-Haori ensemble.

As the priest continued speaking, Hinata had finally good chance to take a look at his groom and husband-to-be. The man was slim and tall, being at least head taller than him. He had short and straight dark hair and matching intense looking eyes. In many ways the man standing before him didn't look half a bad – Hinata would definitely think so if he wasn't a member of the same sex.

The pair exchanged their rings and then the priest turned to Kageyama and spoke. "Do you, Kageyama Tobio want to take Hinata Natsu as your wife and love her till death do you apart?"

With a short glance at his bride he had never met, Kageyama answered. "I do." … he just wanted to be done with the ceremony as fast as possible. The priest then turned to Hinata and asked the same question.

"Do you Hinata Natsu want to take Kageyama Tobio as your husband and love him till death do you apart?"

Hinata was ready to answer.

_"By any means no."_

The words slipped out of his mouth before his mind could even react to it. The boys eyes widened in shock and he could see the confused look of the pop, and the intense and deathfull stare he got from the groom. Thankfully only the three of them had heard it.

"Do you?" the priest asked, as Hinata hadn't given his clear answer yet.

The boy took a deep breath and then opened his eyes, staring kindly at his groom. "I do." He felt so light after saying those words. He had done everything needed and the ceremony was finally over. Sadly Hinata had forgotten one important thing.

"You may now kiss the bride." when he heard the sentence, Hinata finally remembered that every wedding ended with the bride and groom kissing. Sweat started running down his body and his eyes were full of fear. He was going to get kissed by the groom... but they were both men!

"Come here, you dumpass." Hinata heard Kageyama whispering and then he was pulled forward with full force. Man what kind of power that man had. Still, Hinata wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to get kissed by a man.

They were both men!

As Hinata kept struggling against Kageyama he didn't even notice as they faces were just few centimeters apart. "Baka." the dark-head whispered and pulled Hinata into a deep kiss.

When their lips were pulled apart and Hinata finally could catch for air, his mind went blank all of a sudden.

At the end of his wedding ceremony, Hinata S – no – Kageyama Shoyo fainted.


	6. Carrying Over Threshold

Hinata sighed loudly as scenery before him slowly changed. He couldn't believe it had actually happened. He was ashamed, so embarrassed. He wanted to crawl into a hole and never return.

Who thought that he would actually pass out due to undernutrition? Not only he hadn't managed to eat anything for two days since Natsu's death, he also skipped breakfast thanks to two enthusiastic women kidnapping him. That all made the worst nightmare happen. He had passed out in front of all the guests.

The orange-haired boy sighed for yet another time. He wished that he could return back in time and get some food. He had embarrassed not only himself but his family and his husband as well. It someone ever had created time machine this would be the very time Hinata would use it.

The man clothed in black Kimono glanced at his (supposed to be) wife and grinned. He knew very well what the girl (as he believe Hinata to be) was thinking about. He took hold of Hinata's hand, which made the orange-head turn to Kageyama.

"Don't mind about it so much." the raven-head smiled kindly. For a moment Hinata felt like he was being encouraged by his husband. But my, how wrong he had been. His face fell and eyes glazed when he heard Kageyama continuing. "Anyone who is as bump as you would have faced the same fate."

Hinata immediately pulled his hand away from Kageyama and glared at the man with offended look. Finally he shifted his eyes towards the window and the scenery outside, only to hear Kageyama mumbling. "To think that you're dump enough not to eat anything for two days... That's just... fucking insane."

Hinata wanted to yell back at the insults, but he didn't know what he was supposed to say. What were you supposed to say about a man you just met; a man who seemed to be perfect in any aspect you stared at him; a man with no flaws...

He had realized it at the after party. Kageyama had the perfect manners and knew how to talk with elderly and people of his own age. He really was one of a kind; the kind one could describe as perfect man. But even so, this perfect man had missed out something.

The orange-bush smirked widely. "You're the insane one. To think that you haven't realized it yet, that I'm actually..." Hinata's words were cut short when he suddenly remembered what Saeko had told him. By any means Kageyama should not find out that Hinata was actually a man.

"What about you?" Kageyama's voice was threatening. Hinata gulped loudly and shook the words with a desperate laugh. "No it's nothing... really." as an answer Kageyama clicked his tongue and turned away from Hinata.

The orange-head pursued his lips in anger. If things were already going this way, then how in the world was he supposed to live together with the raven-head? To add to that trouble, he also had to hide his gender from the person who lived in the same house... Was he able to do it?

"Tobio-sama, Natsu-sama. We have arrived." the driver informed as the car stopped. He walked to the other side of the car and opened the doors for Kageyama and Hinata. The raven-head stepped outside without even glancing at his driver. Hinata took his time to struggle with the dress and when he was finally out he smiled kindly at the driver.

"Tsk. They went too far for a mere wedding gift..." Hinata heard Kageyama cursing and changed his glance towards the direction the raven-head was staring at. Before him appeared an enormous two-storey house - more than a house it was like a villa. It was at least five times the size of Hinata's house.

The house was mixture of traditional Japanese house and stylish modern western type house. The house was made of dark wood like traditional houses and had large glass windows. The second floor was clearly smaller than the first floor.

"This is our... house?!" Hinata yelled in disbelieve. Was he really going to live in that house... it was so huge! Kageyama glanced at him with annoyed look and sighed. He wondered what kind of idiot he had just married. The boy stepped forward towards the front door. He wanted to change his outfit into more casual one. The Kimono was getting pressing and sweaty.

He only managed to take only few steps when something suddenly caught his dress. He turned around and saw his wife staring at him with upset and bothered look. He glared at Hinata, waiting for him to speak. The orange-head lowered his head and bit his lip. "You have to carry me over the threshold..."

In this matter Hinata wasn't going to lose. Saeko had reminded him about the matter for the whole party and she would definitely beat him up if he wasn't going to fulfill it. As a matter of fact, Hinata also wanted blessing for his relationship with the yet-unknown-husband. He didn't need spirits entering the house through the soles of his feet.

"Why should I bother?" Kageyama asked, not getting why they should follow such old and useless tradition. It's not like spirits were going to enter their house if he could voice his opinion. He wouldn't allow them to enter his house.

As Hinata was still grabbing Kageyama not letting the groom to move, Kageyama sighed and gave up - but only this one time. He walked to Hinata, whose eyes widened of the sudden approach. Hinata panicked as he saw Kageyama wrapping his arms around him and then lifting him up in bridal-style.

"What are you getting so panicked about? You're the one who asked for this!" Kageyama shot a murderous glare at the orange-bush. He added that to make things easier Hinata should wrap his arms around Kageyama's neck. With blush tomato-red (so red that even his make-up faded under the color) Hinata was carried over the threshold as he clang to Kageyama so that he wouldn't fall.

"You can let go..." Hinata heard Kageyama's voice beneath the loud heart beats and dared to open his eyes. They had finally entered the house. Kageyama let down Hinata and the orange-head made few steps ahead, dumbstruck of what he saw.

It was obvious from the outside that the house was big, but the inside made it feel even more bigger. From the entry he saw living room opening on his right side. It had two couches and kotatsu in the middle. There was also low table facing the windows with flowers and plants on both sides. Finally he saw big HD-TV hanging on the wall.

To his left there was huge open space with round closet furniture in the middle. Towards the front wall there was closet for clothes, toilet and an empty room furnished with bed, table and closet. Hinata assumed that it was most likely the guestroom.

Going further up from guestroom was kitchen accompanied with a simple table with lockers at the bottom. From the kitchen, there was a small corridor which lead to the dining hall. Next to the dining hall there was another room with the same furniture as the previous one.

On the right side of the house, where the living room was, the high ceiling was suddenly lower. Along with the lowering ceiling Hinata spotted one lonely door. Kageyama entered the room and checked it.

It was different from the previous guestrooms. It was bigger and had door into another room, which looked much like a study room. Just like the previous rooms this room also had closet, table and double bed. But in addition there was a mirror wall with small table like overhang. Also the room had toilet.

Kageyama looked at the room with approving expression. After that he turned to Hinata. "This will be your room." Hinata's eyes widened when he heard the words. What was the man talking about? If he was going to sleep there then what about Kageyama?

"What do you mean?" the orange-bush managed to mutter.

Kageyama turned away from Hinata and walked towards the door. "It's simple. Even though we're married, it's only formal issue agreed by our parents. I have no intentions living with you as husband and wife... nor sleep with you." the raven-head told and closed the door behind him.

Hinata stared at the closed door with widened eyes. He only managed to blink few times when the door suddenly slid open. "One more thing." Kageyama's voice pierced through the silence. "You can do anything you want in the first floor, but never dare to set your foot to second floor. Not even the stairs, got that?"

Hinata nodded with blank look. With that Kageyama slid the door closed, not even saying anything. When he was alone in the room Hinata fell on the floor. So this was it. He was married to man and was going to live together with him. This was what he had promised to do for Natsu.

But what he was supposed to do from now on, he had no idea. How was he supposed to hide his gender from the 'perfect-guy' looking person, who seemed to be able to deceive people very well. Hinata was at loss. He hadn't managed to plan things this far.

With a deep sigh, Hinata stood up and walked to the toilet. He took hold of the knob and pulled it towards him. The door didn't move. Hinata tried repeating it, with no luck this time either. He even tried pushing it few times, but still no luck. What was he supposed to do... the door didn't even bug.

For a split-second Hinata remembered how Kageyama had opened the doors by sliding them to side. And so, instead of pulling or pushing it, Hinata slid the door to left. Much to his surprise the door actually opened and he managed to enter the toilet.

The toilet had also shower in it. Which meant that he didn't need to leave the room in order to take a shower. It was good. This way he could perfectly hide his gender from his husband. Hinata washed his face, only to realize that he completely ruined his make-up.

He now had panda eyes and no matter how he tried to fix it by rubbing his eyes, he only made things worse. Finally, after getting no results, Hinata gave up. He walked to his bed and lied down. He knew that he had take off the dress but he was too tired to move his body.

The day had been so stressful. Too many things had happened for him to assimilate them. At the age of eighteen he was married, and more over to man. This all happened because he had lost his younger sister. Hinata closed his eyes while thinking of Natsu and he slowly swept into a deep dream.

* * *

Kageyama woke up just few seconds before his alarm went off. He stretched his arms and went to the toilet to wash himself (just like Hinata's room, his room had toilet in it). Walking down the stairs, the raven-head yawned loudly. He glanced at his wife's room, hoping that she wasn't awake yet. Right now he wasn't in the mood to see her face.

"Ohayo, Tobio-sama." Kageyama was surprised to hear familiar voice. He turned towards the voice and saw light brown-haired woman bustling in the kitchen while preparing something which seemed to be an omelet for breakfast.

The woman, Nakamura Miharu, had been Kageyama family's housekeeper ever since Kageyama was a teen (as if he still wasn't one). Her middle back length hair was tied up on two ponytails with yellow ribbons. She was wearing light purple-colored butterfly yukata with blueish patterns and getas - the way she had always dressed up. Over her nose, she had yellow rimmed glasses.

"Ohayo, Miharu-san." Kageyama spoke in first name basics, as Miharu had wished to be called so. The raven-head had always treated the older woman like a sister, but now he started to wonder about her age. Years passed by and while Kageyama aged and got taller, it seemed as if time had stopped for Miharu. She looked just like when Kageyama's father had introduced her to the young heir.

Miharu smiled at the young master. He was so old already. Her young master was now a married man, she was so happy for him. "You can go to the dining hall, I'll bring the breakfast to you." she told. Without words Kageyama nodded and headed towards the dining hall.

For a moment Miharu's eyebrows narrowed as if she tried to remember something. When she finally did, she yelled after the raven-head. "Tobio-sama, wait. We have gue-"

But it was too late. Kageyama's body had frozen and he was staring at the two women who were stuffing food in his dining hall. When Saeko finally noticed the presence of the owner of the house, she looked up from the food and greeted Kageyama. "Yo! Your housekeeper let us in. Man this house is HUGE! And can you believe it, you have inside pool and volleyball court here!" the woman laughed, stuffing the food as if she hadn't eaten in years.

Kiyoko stopped immediately eating and stood up. She lowered her body to bow at the man standing before him. "Good morning, Kageyama-san." the woman said with her gentle voice. Only after getting answer from Kageyama she finally sat down.

Kageyama kept staring at the older sister of his friend. "What are you doing here?" By now a fiery aura had filled his whole body and his expression was so intimidating that it seemed as if he was ready to kill someone. Kiyoko was quiet, but Saeko didn't even seem to mind it at all. Either she wasn't scared of him, or she just couldn't read the atmosphere.

Miharu walked to the dining hall and placed the omelet to Kageyama's seat. She then disappeared back to the kitchen, completely ignoring her master. She, as a matter of fact, had already gotten used to see her young master acting this way. It was just best to ignore him.

As Kageyama still hadn't gotten his answer, he repeated the question. "What are you going here?"

Finally, Saeko turned her attention towards him. She stuffed the last piece of the omelet into her mouth and swallowed it. After drinking down a full glass of water she laughed. Saeko flashed a wide smile at Kageyama. "Don't worry my dear, we have absolutely no business with you. We came to snatch your cute wife away from you."

Kageyama closed his eyes. "Please do. That would save me from the trouble of forcing myself to avoid her. My absolutely-not-cute wife is sleeping in the room next to the stairs." the raven-head sat down to eat his breakfast.

Saeko let out a light laugh. She then grinned at Kageyama. "Have I already told you that you're not cute at all?" with a glance at Kiyoko the pair then stood up and headed towards Hinata's room.

Not looking at the two women, Kageyama took a bite from his breakfast. "You say it to me all the time." he then answered to Saeko, which made the woman turn to him and grin widely.

As Kageyama continued his breakfast, he heard as the door was first slid open and at the very same second closed. Not long after the noise was repeated, followed by angry and desperate yells. It was as if Saeko was dragging his wife against her will; and if it was the older Tanaka we're talking about, then Kageyama could believe it to be true. That woman was frightening.

As the front door slammed closed, Miharu walked to the dining hall. She took away the tableware. Before going, the woman flashed a kind smile at Kageyama. "Your wife is a very beautiful, I'm so happy for you."

Kageyama closed his eyes, not answering. He only heard as Miharu continued. "Even her wedding dress was so beautiful." At this the raven-head opened one of his eyes. If he remembered right, Miharu was absent from the wedding because her sister was giving birth to her firstborn. So how did she know what his wife's wedding dress looked like?

Well, only if she had fallen asleep it on her and was still wearing it.

But that was stupid. Only a dumbass - a complete idiot - would do it. Kageyama was about to shook the idea off, but then he remembered. Just how stupid could he be? Of course it was possible. For her, it was possible.

Because she was the dumbest idiot he had  _ever_  met.

Emphasizing the word  **ever.  
**

* * *

"I have absolutely no idea, just how stupid one person can be!? Not only you fell asleep in your wedding dress but you didn't wash away the make-up! Do you want to ruin your skin or what?" Hinata listened Saeko scolding him as they entered into what seemed to be like a studio or maybe someones office.

"Like I said!" Hinata tried to protect himself. "I tried to wash off the make-up with water, but it didn't work! And the dress... It was so fucking hard to get off that I couldn't care less anymore. I was tired and wanted to get some sleep!"

Saeko flashed a murderous glare at Hinata to make the younger boy shut up. It actually worked, as Hinata didn't dare to continue anymore. Finally she let out a deep sigh. "Okay, Kiyoko-san, let's get the dress off him. After that please do something about the make up."

With the two of them helping, it didn't take long for Hinata to be off the dress. Then Saeko told him to sat down and she herself did the same thing. She took a little bottle and cotton pad and opened the bottle. "For taking off make-up, you need to use make-up remover. Most make-ups are water proof so washing them off using water doesn't work, Sherlock."

When Saeko seemed to be done, she closed the bottle. After that she glanced at Kiyoko. The two often nodded and Saeko stood up from the seat offering the seat to Kiyoko. When the dark-haired woman sat down she opened a locker and took what it seemed to be make-ups. At first she used some creams on Hinata, and the boy gulped loudly. Somehow he didn't like the direction things were going. Saeko had just taken off his make-up, but now Kiyoko was adding new one.

When Kiyoko took something resembling a pen in her hands and told Hinata to close his eyes, the boy understood it. It wasn't just his imagination, she was putting make-up on him. Saeko was walking around the room, as if searching for something. "Just a little longer, Saeko-san." the dark-haired woman said.

"No need to hurry. After all he hasn't arrived yet." the woman said. She then noticed that Hinata was about to say something and immediately shut him up with a murderous glare. The orange-bush didn't dare to speak anything. At least till the moment Kiyoko was holding a mascara in her hands.

"No! No! Not that! It's hurts! My eyes are watering!" the boy struggled as Kiyoko tried put on the mascara.

"Shut up, you little! You were so calm during the wedding, so how come you're this lively now?" Saeko had use all of her powers to keep Hinata still. Even though she was small woman, her power didn't lose that of a man.

"I don't know! I don't even remember you putting anything on me! Now get that thing off my eyes!" Hinata yelled, begged and pleaded. He didn't like it. He didn't like when something was put into his eye.

"Oh, I forgot. You went into trance... of course you wouldn't remember..." Saeko sighed, but at the very moment Kiyoko was done. She smiled kindly at Hinata and caressed his cheek. "This is enough for now. Let's do more once you get used to it."

"There's no way I get used to it." Hinata sulked. He didn't even get what she meant by it. Why was he supposed to get used to it? He understood that he had to live as a girl from now, but was it necessary to use make-up? No way in millions years he was going to get used to it.

"I leave the hair to you, Saeko-san." Kiyoko said and was answered by a wide smile from the older woman. Saeko then walked behind Hinata and started taking off the Tsunokakushi and the Bunkin Takashimada beneath it.

For Hinata it was easier to let the woman do his hair (which still had hairpieces attached). After all she wasn't poking anything towards his eyes. As a matter of fact Saeko was done before Hinata could even gulp properly. Well, what could one say from a barber-in-training.

Just as Saeko was adding the finishing touch, the door suddenly opened and a tall man walked in. For a moment Hinata thought that it was Kageyama, as the resemblance was so great. Soon he was to realize that it was someone else; the center parting and glasses gave him away.

"Shimada-kun, just in time!" Saeko greeted the dark-haired man who was holding a camera and it's footing in his hand. The man greeted the woman back and then bowed at Kiyoko, who answered with same gesture. After that he turned to look at Hinata.

"So this is  _her,_  my client this time..." he wondered, having rather weird tone when he spoke the word 'her'. Hinata felt goosebumps all over his body as the man stared at him with evil grin in his face.

Saeko nodded and then went to get some papers. She handed them over to Shimada Makoto. "This is the personal data. All that's left to do is the photo, right?" Shimada took the papers and nodded. "Then let's started." he smiled.

After that everything happened so quickly. The camera was prepared along with seat for Hinata. When the boy sat down Shimada took few shots of him. When the man found picture he liked, he nodded and told that he was ready. Hinata sat in the seat, all confused of what had just happened.

Saeko glanced at Shimada as the man packing up his stuff. There was a question in her mind. She needed to know the answer, so that she knew how much time she had. "So, when do you think you're ready?" Shimada stopped what he was doing and thought about it for a while. Finally he managed to answer. "I'll say it'll take maximum one week, is that alright?"

Saeko agreed with him. When Shimada was ready the man then said goodbye to everyone, and after adding that he would inform her when he was done, he then left. Saeko couldn't hide her grin as he walked around the studio. She glanced at Kiyoko. "We have one week."

"One week for what?" Hinata suddenly asked, not understanding what was going on. For two days he had not gotten what was happening around him. Those two were supposed to be only his bridesmaid, so why they were still bothering him?

Saeko smirked evilly, which made Hinata to get goosebumps.

"One week to create the perfect Kageyama Natsu."


	7. Creating The Perfect Kageyama Natsu - Part One

"What do you mean by that?" Hinata asked after hearing Saeko's explanation. He didn't quite get it. Why they needed to create a perfect Kageyama Natsu? Wasn't he already good enough the way he was? What did they even need in order to create the perfect Kageyama Natsu?

Saeko and Kiyoko glanced at each other. "I guess it's better to explain the situation to him, right?" Saeko questioned from the dark-head and Kiyoko nodded as an answer. They were hiding too much from the person, who was known as their client - and Hinata didn't even know that fact. Hinata stared at the two women, his face showing that he had already lost track of the argument.

"The thing is that alongside being your bridesmaids, me and Kiyoko were hired by your parents to make you more girly. Oh and your housekeeper Nakamura Miharu-san... she also knows about your circumstances. This is all for you to keep on deceiving your husband so that the contract will hold. Once things calm down and your fathers company is doing better you can ask for divorce." Saeko started explaining the situation. She then glanced at Kiyoko.

The dark-head started speaking. "The reason why Shimada-san was here before because he's a professional forger and in charge of creating your high school ID. You'll be attending to Teikoku Academy as a first year Kageyama Natsu." Kiyoko told, her cheeks slowly starting to burn red as she had to speak so much. Saeko added that he didn't have to worry about getting graduation diploma from his current high school. Everything was already under Shimada's control and the diploma would be send to him.

"That way, once your gender gets discovered by that arrogant child you can continue your life as Hinata Shoyo. But before that... while the ID-card is still being made, we're going to hold different lessons to you to make you more girly like. And the training starts tomorrow." Saeko announced it like Hinata had no choice to object. It was clear command coming from his parents, not the two girls.

"I think this is enough information for now. You'll head will blow up soon if you receive too much information at once." the honey-head then stated and glanced at Hinata. "Go home for now and try to calm yourself down and prepare for the up coming lessons. We'll see you tomorrow." the woman told, and without any words the boy stood up and headed towards the exit. He was stopped by Kiyoko, who gave him a pair of spare clothes which consisted of two skirts, t-shirts and stockings.

She also handed him a pair of what it seemed to be a sports bra. "These are specially made for you, so that you would have at least some kind of breast. Remember to always wear them when appearing before people. We will later give you more." Saeko explained, and Hinata nodded without saying anything. He then left.

Kiyoko walked to Saeko, wearing a worried expression. "Will he be alright? He just lost his sister and now he has to go through this..." she tried to find a fitting word. "Abyss..." Saeko smirked at Kiyoko's choice of word, but soon her expression got serious.

"I wonder..."

Hinata opened the door and was welcomed by Miharu's cheerful voice. He took off his shoes and wormed towards his room. Right now he didn't want to see anyone. He just wanted to close his eyes and hope that it was all a bad dream. That if he opened his eyes again, he would be happily sleeping in his own bed and Natsu would come running into his room to wake him up.

"Hey you." Hinata heard the pierce voice of his husband. Perfect timing; not this as well. And he was just thinking of not wanting to meet anyone. The ginger-bush glanced at the raven-head and glared at him under his bangs. His brown-colored eyes were furious.

"I have a name you know. It's Sh- Natsu." Hinata manged to correct himself before making the worst blooper ever. For a moment he thought that Kageyama would have understood that he was lying to him. His heart beat fastened and Hinata gulped loudly, waiting for the answer of the raven-head.

Kageyama shook the almost-mistake with shrug and then started to search for something. Finally when he found it, he handed the white letter to Hinata. "This is for your weekly expenses. Currently it's not much and the amount will raise once I graduate from school and start working full-time." the man told and then walked off before Hinata could even turn over the letter.

He opened the letter and started to count for the money. When the last money had switched hands, Hinata froze making all the money to scatter on the floor. Kageyama had just given him fourteen million yen (approximately hundred two thousands euros or one hundred and thirty five thousand dollars - you choose the currency). Never in his life time had he held so much money in his arms, and Kageyama was telling 'It's not much' and 'amount will raise'.

Fucking millionaires.

* * *

**Double Lessons - Double The Trouble  
Lesson One: ** _Remember To Look After Yourself_

It was the first day of the first lesson, and Hinata surely wasn't excited about it. He barely got himself off bed and put on the clothes that Saeko and Kiyoko had brought him as he had nothing better yet. A simple dark-blue colored pleated skirt, beneath it black stockings and blue-white striped T-shirt.

When he went to have breakfast which Miharu had prepared for him, he found Kageyama already seated and eating his breakfast. The raven-head was in his uniform; a white blazer over a white blouse with black tie. His trousers were simple dark ones and he was wearing black leather boots with buckled.

The uniform made him look like a "bocchama" - young master, as people would say. No wonder, Kageyama was attending to Teikoku Academy, which was a private high school with the most expensive fees and hardest education. Rumors were flying around, that the students of Teikoku Academy could easily apply to any university they wanted.

Hinata was going to attend to this school starting next week - as Kageyama Natsu, a first year high school student.

_A girl._

"Morning." Hinata greeted his husband with a trying-to-sound-lively tone. He then sat down on the seat opposite to Kageyama where Miharu had already prepared his breakfast. Kageyama glanced at his brisk wife and shook Hinata's greeting off by a turn of head along with unclear mumble. Hinata's eyebrows narrowed as he watched Kageyama standing up and leaving.

"Miharu-san, thank you for the food. I'm leaving." Kageyama smiled at his housekeeper and Miharu send him off with a kind and concerned expression. Miharu then walked to Hinata and smiled at the boy. "I'm sorry for Tobio-sama's behavior. He's very shy about... mm... girls?" the woman laughed desperately and took Hinata's dishes as the boy had finished.

"Let's just face it. He hates me." the boy mumbled as he stood up and headed towards the entrance. He was thankful for the fact that Miharu knew about him being a boy. It was already tiring enough to pretend to be a girl around Kageyama and everyone else. Now he had one more person with whom he could stop the facade and just be himself.

Miharu showed a weak smile - though Hinata, whose back was facing her didn't see it. "It's not like that. If he really hated you, he would've kicked you out of the house as soon as you two arrived here..."

"But he can't because of the contract our parents made..." was Hinata's quiet whisper. It was left completely unnoticed.

"Tobio-sama is really kind at heart. He's just hard to approach at first. He's a very cold person when he doesn't have to act kind. I'm sure that he will slowly open up to you." Miharu continued. Hinata was already putting on his shoes. He let out a heavy and deep sigh. "At least till the moment he finds out that I'm actually a man..." the statement vanished into thin air.

"I'm going!" the boy then yelled and after getting Miharu's answer, he closed the door behind him. Now he had to head towards Saeko's studio. It wouldn't take him long, though. He just needed to walk to the bus station, drive past two stops and get off on the third one. Then he would walk down the street a little and soon he had arrived at the studio.

Knocking the door lightly, Hinata then opened it slowly. "I'm coming in." He slipped in through the small opening he made for himself and then closed the door behind him. He let out a sigh when the door closed; the studio was pitch black, so maybe the two of them hadn't arrived yet.

Before Hinata had even let go of the knob, suddenly two arms wrapped around him and pulled him away. "HYAA!" the boy yelled in surprise, desperately waving his arms around. As an answer he got someone hissing at him and telling him to quiet down. A finger was placed on his lips and he heard kind voice telling that it was alright.

Hinata was dragged into a little room. When the lights were put on, he realized that he was in toilet. And the culprits were - who else than Saeko and Kiyoko of course. The honey-head was laughing loudly. "Good morning Mr. Sunshine." the greeting made Hinata to think that she had completely lost her mind - which she probably had.

"Today our lesson is about hygiene. While you men do nothing else but shave off your beard, we women have quite different places we must shave." Saeko explained and then showed few places, like armpits, legs and intimate area. "But it really variate with people. Some even shave their arms."

"You can have four different ways to shave; with disposable razor; electric razor; wax on, wax off and chemical depilation." Hinata's eyes started to roll in confusion as Kiyoko explained all the different ways in details. Saeko was smirking off very widely, which made clear to Hinata that she was up to something.

"Today we will demonstrate 'wax on, wax off' method to you." she announced happily. Hinata could feel something fishy in her tone. As if she was going to enjoy seeing someone tortured. What exactly they were going to do to him? "Come here. We don't have the whole day! The wax is going to cool off."

"EH!?" Hinata started panicking when the female duo suddenly grouped around him. Saeko started applying some red sticky stuff on his leg, which made him even more confused. After that she added a weird paper looking thing on top of the red mass. Kiyoko and Saeko glanced at each other, smirking.

"I'm going to pull it off, Kiyoko-chan hold Hinata." the honey-head informed.

"Eh?" Hinata's eyes widened as he saw Kiyoko wrapping her arms around him. What was going to happen? What she going to pull the thing off. Why so much trouble?

"Here we go." and so Saeko pulled the strip.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

* * *

 **Double Lessons - Double The Trouble**  
 **Lesson Two:**   _Being Beautiful Is Every Woman's Wish_

"I'm not doing anything." Hinata had crawled himself into fetal position and was sulking in the corner. Tears ran down his cheeks and his eyes were red. The boy had puffed up his cheeks and swing back and forth. His legs hurt. His legs damn hurt because of the wax being pulled off.

Saeko sweat dropped, but inside she was satisfied. Finally she had made a man go through the same pain as her. Now even one man in the world understood the pain women went through in order to look good. Saeko was sitting in the chair, leaning her jaw against her arm. "I promise you that doing it with razor isn't as painful." and it was the truth. At least if you managed not to cut yourself. That hurt.

Kiyoko walked to Hinata and knelt next to him. She stared at the orange-bush boy right into his eyes. "I know it's painful but..." Kiyoko had only one trump card she could use. She really didn't want to do it, but it was their only way to get Hinata co-work with them. "You must do it for your sister." No matter what, she didn't dare to say aloud the dead girls name.

Hinata's eyes widened and he turned to Kiyoko. The air in the room was heavy, even Saeko had lost her cheerfulness. The silence lasted for minutes as the two young-adults kept staring at each other. Finally Hinata broke it by sighing loudly. "Okay. What are we going next?"

He stood up, getting mentally prepared for the next task. It couldn't be anything harsh. Surely it was something which would hurt less that getting your leg hair pulled off.

"Make-up."

Hinata froze. The woman couldn't be serious. After all that hell, now he would have them poke his eyes with weir brushes and pens. "What?" he asked, speechless. Saeko sighed and went to get the make-ups they had prepared for the training. The make-ups Hinata would eventually get. "We're doing make-ups." she said while holding the bag consisting make-ups.

No no no. Hinata wasn't going to allow it. He didn't need any more brushes and pens and poking and anything at all. He was sure that he looked the best with natural look. "No-"

"Don't worry. You're putting the make-up on your own. We just advise you from the sidelines." Kiyoko reassured Hinata, which made the boy little more open-minded to the idea. If he was the one holding the tools, then he most likely didn't have as much trouble with the idea.

And so Saeko and Kiyoko let Hinata do all the work and they just advised him, explaining how to use each one of the tools. Hinata was surprised, to think it was so much easier to put mascara on his own that have someone else do it for you.

* * *

 **Double Lessons - Double The Trouble**  
 **Lesson Three:**   _Shopping is PASSION!_

"Then how about this one?"

"I think there's too much details. Hinata would look better in something more simpler." as always Saeko got long but honest answer from Kiyoko. The girl was never blunt - she always said everything rosily - but she always spoke out her opinion honestly. "What do you say about this?" she then heard the dark-head asking.

"Awful!" was Saeko's short, simple and maybe little too blunt answer. But that's how the two of them were. Saeko would always answer shortly and maybe even too extravagantly. Kiyoko was more detailed and honest one. That was the reason, which most likely made them best friends and good partners.

The time passed by, the two of them searching clothes for Hinata. They went from shop to shop and each time Hinata had to try on the clothes which the girls then measured. Mostly they approved them and immediately bought the clothes. As for the money; they used the allowance Kageyama had given to Hinata.

Saeko paid for the clothes and they went towards the next shop. Poor Hinata was left with the mountain of bags bursting with clothes. They arrived at the next shop and Saeko and Kiyoko immediately went hunting down for new clothes. Hinata sat down on the first thing he could use as a chair. He was exhausted. Were women always like this when shopping, he wondered.

As they were walking through the clothes, Kiyoko glanced at the ginger-bush who was sitting alone. In an instant she suddenly got an idea and walked to the boy. "You can go and search for a ensemble, which we will Saeko-san will rate." she made a suggestion.

"Oh, good idea!" Saeko's voice was heard somewhere further. "We will know what's this guys fashion-sense. If he has one." the woman grinned, and before Hinata could send a murderous glare at her, she went back to search for more clothing.

Hinata no choice but to agree with Kiyoko's idea. And so he went to search for a perfect ensemble - shorts, t-shirt, socks and boots. There was no way that he would try on new bra. It was already hard enough not to keep on fixing the sports bra he was wearing.

When all parts of the ensemble were found - and Hinata was surprised that he even found them - the ginger-head went to try them on. Saeko and Kiyoko were waiting for him, wondering what kind of appearance he would make. Would they match him or would it look awful. Saeko was already prepared to laugh her ass off when she'd see the boy. (How kind of her...)

Hinata peeked his head from the fitting room. "Be sure not to laugh." the women could clearly see a light blush covering his face. When they nodded Hinata came out. He looked nervously down, waiting for the women to comment.

Saeko and Kiyoko were completely caught off guard when they saw the ensemble. Hinata was wearing grey brace shorts and black-blue striped t-shirt with round opening. His stockings were matching with the design of the t-shirt and on top he had dark brown leather boots with no high-heels. The eye captor was the black-yellow scarf Hinata had wrapped around his neck.

"Not half a bad." Saeko kept nodding her head while approving the clothes of the boy, who was now blushing hard red. He still wasn't used to have people stare at him in such girly clothes. The duo smiled impressed while glancing at each other.

Who would have thought that the boy actually had so much fashion sense.

* * *

**Double Lessons - Double The Trouble**   
**Lesson Four:** _Karaoke Is Your Best Way To Train Vocals (as if...)_

After a long and rough day Saeko and Kiyoko had promised to take Hinata to Karaoke. The ginger-bush had been all excited about it till the moment he had heard it was another training. This time they were talking about vocal training and being able to speak in higher tone. In the end, he was only sitting down while Saeko was singing passionately and drinking maybe little too many glasses of beer.

"Come on, hick, Hinata-chan... singh!" the honey-head forced the microphone to Hinata and went to take another shot. Kiyoko was already after the woman, telling that she had already had enough for one day. Saeko first yelled loudly that she wasn't and then pursued her lips in anger. She was like a little child who didn't get the candy she wanted.

Hinata hold onto the microphone and blushed hard. He had completely stiffed up and stood there like a stone statue. His shower surely heard him singing everyday, but he hadn't sang in front of people since... elementary school, maybe. His heart beating hard Hinata raised his trembling arm and placed the microphone before his mouth. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Kiyoko was still trying to calm Saeko down when she suddenly heard Hinata singing. He voice was high for a male voice and very clear. The boy was pretty good, better than she had expected for him to be. "Go Go Hinata, hick!" Saeko yelled drunk waving her arms up high, splattering the beer around the room.

By the time the song ended, Hinata had already forgotten that there were other people in the room. When he opened his eyes he finally realized that he was in the karaoke room and not his house. The realization of that made his face flush tomato red. What had he done?

Kiyoko smiled at the boy. "Your voice is great. Now if you can learn to sing two or three octaves higher no one would dare to doubt that you're not girl." the dark-head smiled, holding onto Saeko, who had fallen asleep somewhere during the song. Kiyoko told that they're day was finally over and they should head home.

When they were about to part ways, the dark head then added. "Tomorrow you'll be training with her." she glanced at sleeping Saeko, who first mumbled something which was followed by a laugh mixed with hiccups.

Hinata turned up his nose, his expression completely selling him. The next day would be hellish one. He so wasn't going to enjoy it.

* * *

**Saeko Lessons - The Spartan Teacher  
Lesson One: ** _Your Posture Is The One That Catches Mens Attention_

For the lessons held by Saeko, the two of them had promised to meet at Saeko's studio. The boy gently knocked the door as he opened it. The lights were already on, but he saw no one in the room. "Excuse me..." he let a quiet whisper as he finally dared to close the door. Was there anyone?

As an answer to his unsaid question Saeko rushed to greet him from the room next door. She look determined and all pumped up. In her arms, she was holding a pile of books. Saeko placed them on the chair and scanned Hinata trough head to toes. She them smirked with approving expression.

"Not a bad choice." she complimented Hinata - most likely his clothing, the boy thought. He was wearing light jean-colored dungaree shorts with black tights and red corvense shoes. His t-shirt was white loose type with simple black pattern in the middle. What caught Saeko's attention was the purple-colored loose beanie barely covering Hinata's ears. Not what she had chosen, but it matched maybe little too well with the ensemble.

Hinata flashed a teeth showing grin and a light redness could be seen in his cheeks. He had tried to find a comfortable, but girly looking ensemble and it seems that it had been approved. In a way he was also relieved. This also meant that he didn't need to use skirts all the time; he could also use shorts and maybe even boyfriend jeans - or so they had been called, the loose-type jeans he had seen when shopping along with Saeko and Kiyoko.

Saeko smirked. "Okay! Let the lesson start!" she laughed and took the books from the chair. She walked to Hinata and pushed them on him. "You put them on your head and walk!" more than explanation what to do, it was a simple command. Hinata did as he was told - the ten books suddenly found their place on top of him.

The boy took few careful steps while his eyes were fixed ahead. As soon as he got the concentration and balance right, his pace fastened and he even managed to walk all the way back to Saeko. When he was back to the woman, he glanced at her with questioning expression.

"I see that you already have the right balance." the honey-head smirked.

Hinata smiled at her compliment. "I learned it while training with the volleyball club." he announced proudly, and showed off how he could make a fast turn while still managing to keep the books on his head.

Saeko smirked, and for a moment Hinata could felt as if eerie aura surrounded her. "I see. But there's one thing you most likely haven't trained with the volleyball club." she then told and went to take something from the room next door. When she returned back, she was holding a pair of shoes. "Take your shoes off."

Hinata gulped when he saw the pair. "NO WAY I'M WALKING IN THOSE... Those have like... ten centimeters!" he panicked, loosing his concentration. Immediately the book mountain started to tremble and the books scattered around the floor.

Saeko glanced at the shoes. "Actually it's fifteen."

"That's even more the reason why I shouldn't put them on! I'm going to kill my legs!" Hinata yelled, his face all green just at the thought of being forced to walk on those things. Saeko sighed angrily and pushed the shoes to Hinata's hands the force of her push making him to fall down.

The woman then glared at her pupil. "Put them on - NOW!"

And so Hinata had no other choice but to put on the enemy of all men - and some women -  _high heels._

* * *

 **Saeko Lessons - The Spartan Teacher**  
 **Lesson Two:**   _The Most Attractive Part Of You Is Hair_

Hinata huffed loudly and he finally managed to pull off the high heels. It was killing - his legs were literally dead. How the women actually managed to walk on heels even taller than just fifteen centimeters. He was sure that just two centimeters would be enough to make his legs hurt for the next week. So most likely he wouldn't be getting off bed the next day.

"Good job there. You can take a short break for now." Saeko told and then started putting some strange head like things into the room. As minutes passed by - and Hinata felt that his legs were getting their life back - Saeko was slowly getting ready with the head. When the one seeming to be last head was brought from the next room, the honey head smiled widely.

"I'm sure you should know what we're going to do now." she stated to Hinata and the boy turned to look at all the heads. It he was right, barbers used them to train cutting and making different hairdos. Most likely he was going to do the latter one, since Saeko would never let a complete newbie cut hair.

"Hairdos?" he asked, hesitating.

Saeko nodded. "There are in total about one hundred heads. So pick up ten different hairdos and do each one to ten heads. You will continue this till the moment you can do ten completely identical hairdos."

Hinata gulped. This teacher was really asking the impossible from him. But on the other hand he was kinda happy. Hinata walked to the first head and pulled his hand along the hair. It's been a long time since he had last done any hairdos. Back when Natsu still had long hair, she always forced him to help do her hair. Eventually she cut it short, so Hinata wasn't needed anymore.

"Oh, did I tell that you have one minute for each head. The time starts now." the woman smirked, snapping Hinata out of it.

When he heard Saeko's voice, Hinata's body started to boil in anger.

She really was nothing but a spartan teacher.


	8. Creating The Perfect Kageyama Natsu - Part Two

**Saeko Lessons - The Spartan Teacher**  
 **Lesson Three:**   _When You Dance, Your Moves Are Everything_

"Now that you're done with hip hop, pop and rap, let's try some partner dance." Saeko said as she stopped the music and walked to Hinata. "I'm sure this will be the most useful one - after all you have to dance in all the parties where your husband is invited to." the woman informed.

She helped Hinata to find the right hand positions - as he was dancing the female part his left hand was on Saeko's shoulder and his right arm was resting on top of Saeko's arm. Finally Saeko slipped her free hand to Hinata's lower back - closer to the hip, actually - which made the boy to jump in surprise.

"Oi, don't dare to do that when you dance with your husband." Saeko smirked, making Hinata blush hard. He wasn't afraid of being touched to hip, the sudden move was completely unexpected. He hadn't waited for it so of course if took him off guard - it was clear that he would get surprised.

"Okay, first let's try some moves without music." Saeko led the younger boy. Her teaching and clear explanation helped, but in the end the tempo and moves were too complicated for the beginner. He managed to step on top of Saeko's feet almost every single time.

"I'm so sorry." the ginger-bush apologized to the woman who had her feet completely trodden. Saeko shook it off with a painful smirk. Well, almost did.

"Don't worry about me. You should be more worried about your dear husband who most likely will be  _very_  angry to have his feet being trodden by you." Saeko said casually when walking to turn on the music. She then returned to Hinata's side.

Hinata gulped loudly. He really needed to learn how to dance, or Kageyama would end him.

* * *

**Saeko Lessons - The Spartan Teacher**   
**Lesson Four:** _How Would You React In This Situation?_

"Your boyfriend is two-timing you with your best friend."

"Ho- Ho- How could you do this to me!"

"TOO WEAK! Put more feeling into it. Try to imagine yourself in those shoes! And don't forget to kick and punch him will all of your power. She too deserves to have a good bitch-slap, so much for a best friend." Saeko yelled at Hinata for being a weak hearted.

The orange-head sighed in desperation. So far he had somehow understood the reason for each lesson, but this was just insane. Why he had to learn the girly way to react in different situations? Could they just spare the trouble? This was just meaningless.

"You're going to marry a completely unknown man. What do answer after the priest asks you if you want to marry him?" Saeko then continued. They had continued doing to for almost two hours, and so far Saeko had approved only two or three of his answers.

The situation seemed familiar to Hinata. Somehow, the words once again slipped away.  _"By any means no..."_

Before he could even try to correct himself to "I do", Saeko was already laughing her ass off while trying her best to stay on the chair. "Truly, that was the best answer any woman could say." she told, drying her wet eyes. After that she huffed for the air to calm herself down. "I think we're done for today."

Hinata sighed of relief. Finally one of his answers was approved... but then it hit him. The boy's eyes widened and he stared at Saeko with pale face and small pupils.

His answer back then had been  _girly_?

_(Most likely not, since Saeko was only playing around with Hinata...)_

* * *

**Kiyoko Lessons - The Perfectionist**  
 **Lesson One:**   _Don't Underestimate Japanese Dance_

It was agreed that Hinata would meet with Kiyoko that day. He waited at the appointed spot - under a clock tower at Akairo plaza - for the older woman to arrive. He felt uneasy, wearing only skirt and t-shirt in public and being seen by others. He wanted Kiyoko to arrive soon so that they could leave the place.

Soon Hinata could sigh of relief as he spotted Kiyoko walking towards him. Unlike the other times when he sad seen the girl wearing casual clothes, Kiyoko was clothed like a shrine-maiden. She was wearing a red hakama and a white haori. Her hair was tied up on red ribbon.

"Good Morning." Kiyoko greeted the boy and added. "Today we're going to my place."

Hinata could only nod in silence. Not like he could object; nor she would even listen to his opinion. Kiyoko led him to her place, which was a shine located not far from his house. Hinata stared at the shrine with amazed look. He did remember Saeko telling about Kiyoko being a shrine-heads daughter but still it caught him in surprise. It was completely different to hear about it and see it with ones very own eyes.

As the two of them walked in, Kiyoko spotted two women sweeping the yard. The two of them greeted Kiyoko, who nodded kindly. After that she glanced at Hinata. "Could you please prepare Kimono for her? I'm waiting in the dance hall." with that she bowed and left.

Hinata was quickly taken to the dressing room and the two women prepared a Kimono for him and helped him to put it on. He was surprised that the women didn't notice him being actually a boy - or even if they did, they most likely didn't mention it. After all Kiyoko had referred him as a girl.

When the boy was dressed up, the women took him to the dance hall where Kiyoko was already waiting for him. She was also dressed into a Kimono. Her dress was ocean blue and had bubbles and dolphin as design. Kiyoko stared at Hinata's nature green Kimono with autumn-leaf design and smiled. "It really suits you."

After that Kiyoko closed her eyes and offered Hinata a fan. "Let the lesson start." Kiyoko positioned Hinata before her and told him to follow her every move and mirror them. The confused boy did his best to follow her but it was no luck - it was had to move in the Kinomo and his arm started to get numb for holding the fan.

"No no! Raise your hand more! The angle between your legs and arms is wrong. Put your chest up! Your holding the fan the wrong way!" after thirty minutes of helpless training, Hinata fell on the floor exhausted. How could something like dancing be so tiring?

Kiyoko looked at the boy with troubled look - the training was going absolutely no where. "What do I do with you?" In reality Kiyoko had never trained anyone so she wasn't sure what to do. She just repeated how she had learned the dance.

"Oho ho ho. Are you having trouble, my child?" the duo suddenly heard a voice asking. When they turned around the saw a short old woman with white hair entering the dancing hall. She was wearing simple navy blue Kimono and had kind expression.

"Kanno-san." Kiyoko seemed to be surprised to see the woman. The dark-head then turned her glance to Hinata and sighed lightly. "I'm supposed to teach this one traditional dance, but things aren't going very well." After Kiyoko's words the woman turned her attention towards Hinata and let out a laugh.

"My child. How about you first dance the song fully and then you work on it in parts?" Kanno suggested and already sat down next to Hinata. Kiyoko's eyes widened for a second, but after a look at Kanno, she took a deep breath and took the starting pose. "Watch closely, young one."

The moment Kiyoko started dancing, Hinata couldn't take his eyes off her. The movements, her posture and what more her expression was so alluring. He was captured into her world, following her every movement and staring at her face trying to figure out her expressions. It was as if she was telling a silent story to him; a story of a girl who was lonely and wanted more friends.

"You know, young one." Hinata was pulled back, when he suddenly heard Kanno speaking. He glanced at the older woman, but quickly changed his stare back to Kiyoko. He nodded lightly, implying that he was listening. The woman shot a light smile too staring at the young woman dancing.

"Kiyoko-sama, is currently the best dancer in the shrine. Her father is very proud of her... But it hasn't always been that way." Kanno was silent for a moment. "That child used to be the slowest learner and it seemed as if she was never going to catch up to others. But then she secretly started to practice on her own, and after practicing for hours and hours again she was finally able to master the dances like no one else."

Hinata's eyes widened and concentrated on Kiyoko's dance even more. Even though he knew nothing about traditional Japanese dance - he still could tell that Kiyoko was a great dancer. Never ever had someone captived him with their dance. This woman was something else.

When Kiyoko was finished, Kanno walked to the woman. "Good work, my child. Now tell me, how long did it take for you to perfect this dance?" Kiyoko, who was huffing lightly glanced at the smiling woman. Her eyes widened and she lowered her head.

"I'm so sorry." Kiyoko apologized; as much as she was doing it to Kanno, Hinata and herself. "I panicked about the fact that we have only one week." Her face had flushed red and she did her best to hold her tears back.

Kanno closed her eyes and caressed Kiyoko's cheek. "Now, now, my child. You have to remember that everyone has their own pace of learning things. Don't panic and teach every move properly, that way the young one can perfect this dance." with that Kanno bowed at both Hinata and Kiyoko and excused herself.

She was about to exit from the door but took last one peek at her disciple and her pupil. Great, it seemed that Kiyoko had finally managed to calm down - even though the fact that she was perfectionist would remain. Kanno then glanced at Hinata and for a moment her face darkened.

"He has the same aura... as that young one."

* * *

 **Kiyoko Lessons - The Perfectionist  
Lesson Two:**  _Every Woman Knows How To Serve Tea_

When Kiyoko and Hinata were done with the dances, it was already time for the afternoon tea. Kiyoko glanced at the boy, who was lying on the floor and huffing loudly as every part of his body hurt. Dancing really was tiring.

"This time, we're going to serve tea." Kiyoko said, glancing at the clock. She waited for Hinata to get up and then lead the boy towards the other end of the shrine. The room - which seemed to be a tea ceremony room - was quite simple with some tatami mats and ikebana flowering. In the middle of the room was a strange hole with something like a pot in it.

"Here take this." Kiyoko said, offering a small box to Hinata. When the boy opened it he saw a bowl, caddy, scoop and various other equipment. His arms trembling, Hinata turned to Kiyoko with confused look. What was he supposed to do with all that?

"Just follow my example." Kiyoko shot an assuring smile, which only made Hinata even more nervous. This wasn't good. Kiyoko would surely show her true colors again. The colors of perfectionist.

The first part of the ceremony - the preparations - went well, if Hinata could say so it himself. He knew that Kiyoko wasn't going to be satisfied with just it, though. The biggest mistake Hinata could do, happened when he was supposed to start pour tea. He actually spilled it over, staining his Kimono.

"Don't mind it, I did that also on my first try." Kiyoko said, and for a moment Hinata actually felt like she was trying to encourage him. After all it was no use crying over a spilled tea, right? Finally, came the words that drove Hinata into desperation.

"Your form is off though, for 10 degrees. Remember to keep your back straight and expression calm. Don't waver or smile. Don't let any kind of expression show on your face."

Hinata wanted to cry. His inner-self was crying a lake of tears as they continued the ceremony for another twenty minutes.

* * *

**Kiyoko Lessons - The Perfectionist**   
**Lesson Three:** _Ikebana - The Way Of Flowers_

By the time the couple went to train Ikebana, Hinata's inner tears had already changed to real ones. This was just awful. He got tired of Saeko's spartan way of teaching, but Kiyoko's perfection was even more tiring. His mind had completely given up already.

"That flower needs to be five centimeters closer to the middle."

"Ah, you cut the branch too much. Now it doesn't look good."

"I would rather use red flowers here, in stead of blue ones."

"That flower needs to be put deeper, or it doesn't look good."

"That flower would look better if it was on the other side."

"That flower..."

"That flower..."

"That flower..."

Somehow the one hour practice was enough for him. He was sure that he wouldn't able to look at flowers properly now. Hinata sighed in exhaustion when the lesson was over. Hopefully the next lesson would be something he liked. Knowing Kiyoko, most likely not.

He wanted to go home.

* * *

 **Kiyoko Lessons - The Perfectionist**  
 **Lesson Four:**   _The Perfect Wife Knows How To Cook_

"Even though you already have a housekeeper who cooks for you, it's recommendable for a good wife to know how to cook and bake." Kiyoko informed the ginger-head as they walked towards the kitchen. She took two aprons and gave one to the boy.

Hinata couldn't stop his smile. Finally it was training about something he already knew how to do. His smile widened even more when Kiyoko announced that they would be making obento.

Kiyoko was expecting for the boy to look confused and ask questions from her. Well, he did come, but each and every time it was to find an ingredient. The woman watched from the sides as Hinata cooked and smiled proudly. At least it would save her from the trouble to teach him, if he already knew it.

After sometime had passed, Hinata walked to Kiyoko showing her a complete bento. Kiyoko observed it and gave an approved smile. "It very well done. Expe-" she was about to start, but stopped her words. No she should get over worked by it. This was Hinata's way of doing things and it was enough. Even though it wasn't the way she liked it, it was enough.

"Where did you learn to make bento?" she asked instead. Hinata glanced at the girl, and smiled with a blushing face. For the first time she had completely approved him.

"Our parents were busy with work - they left early and returned back late. Some times they were away for days or even weeks, so I was in charge for making obento for Natsu and myself." Hinata explained, his expression dropping at the mention of his sisters name. A sudden pain entered his whole body, and he did his best to keep tears from coming. It still hurt, mentioning Natsu's name hurt.

"I guess we don't need any cooking lessons, now do we?" Kiyoko suggested. At the mention of it, Hinata's eyes widened. He had finally found a lesson he liked and now she was going to take the joy away from him. "Ah... if only possible... I would like to continue the lessons..."

Kiyoko was taken aback by Hinata's words. She smiled. "Then as your first homework, you have to create the perfect obento for your husband and make it to him to work." Hinata felt chills at the thought of it - at the thought of doing something for that intimidating bastard. But he was prepared to take on the challenge.

At home Hinata immediately started making various sorts of the food changing the measurements just a little in order to find the one his husband liked the most. When Hinata had more than five variants of bento ready for his husband, he heard the entrance door opening.

Kageyama who had returned from work, walked to the dining hall hoping that Miharu had already prepared food for him. "Miharu-san what we have-" his words were cut short, when instead of his housekeeper he saw his wife running around in apron while placing different dishes on the table.

Hinata glanced at Kageyama and greeted him with unusually cheerful smile. After that he lead his husband to the dining hall and sat him down. "I would like you to try all of them, and tell what's your favorite." Hinata said and then started skipping towards kitchen to take off his apron.

Kageyama stared at his wife going and then at the seven bento variants before him. So the days dinner was obento prepared by his wife. He had important meeting the next day so he hoped that he wouldn't get poisoned by it. Kageyama gulped and reached towards the chopsticks. He was afraid to eat the meal prepared by his wife but the intense the stare he received from the kitchen was far too troubling.

After the first bite, which luckily tasted better than he had imagined, it was easier to test rest of them. Kageyama happily tasted each bentos main dishes, along with some of the side dished. He ate all of the chicken and tamagoyaki, but left the salmon and plums out.

When Kageyama had finished what he could, he stood up from his seat and walked to the kitchen. Hinata panicked when he saw Kageyama walking towards him, and he quickly tried to find a place to hide. He wasn't fast enough, though, as Kageyama was already patting his head. "Thanks for the meal. It was good." with that the raven-head disappeared to the second floor.

Hinata immediately ran to the dining hall, to check what his husband preferred to eat. He was surprised that out of the seven bentos only one was completely finished. Also he noticed that Kageyama had eaten tamagoyaki from all dished. The boy smiled happily.

"Tori bento and rolled eggs, huh?"

* * *

It was finally a Sunday evening, a week had passed by in a flash. Hinata finished his cooking lesson with Kiyoko and after a call from Saeko, they headed to her studio. It seemed that Shimada had finally finished making the school ID card. When the duo entered the studio hall, Saeko and Shimada were already waiting for them.

"Otsukare." Saeko greeted Hinata and Kiyoko - she seemed to be more merry than usually, was she buzzed? The two of them nodded their heads and then turned to greet Shimada. He showed and week smile, which made Saeko to smack him on the back. "Greet~ them properly." she puffed, but then laughed joyfully.

The cause of Saeko's merriness was found in no time - the three empty beer cans gave her out right away. Shimada let out a deep sigh and glanced at Kiyoko with apologizing look. "She wanted to celebrate the successful week and forced me to accompany her as neither one of you drink."

His words made Saeko to smack his back again and he almost fell from his chair. A light crimson appeared on Saeko's cheek - most likely due to the alcohol and she puffed loud. Another sigh escaped Shimada's lips. He then stood up and walked to Hinata. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Here's your student ID card." the man told, and hold out a small card to the ginger-head.

Hinata took the card and stared at it. It looked so perfect, just like his old card. The only difference was that it was falsified one, and referred Hinata as a female. He was now, Kageyama Natsu a female student of Teikoku Academy. The picture was the one they had taken the week earlier. There he had his hair open with the hairpieces falling to his shoulder and just slight amount of make-up to make him look more girly.

"Th- Thank you so much." Hinata's voice cracked, as he panicked to thank Shimada. The dark-blue haired man laughed embarrassed of the sudden politeness. "It was very easy job." he then admitted. When Hinata saw his smile - which this time was so innocent one - he once again got goosebumps. He shouldn't forget it - no matter how kind this man was, he was still professional forger.

Finally Shimada turned to look at Saeko, who was opening yet another beer can. "I know that it's rude for me to ask my clients need for the items, but mind answering to one of my questions? If this young man is already eighteen and finishing high school, then why the needs to make him into a sixteen year-old female freshman?"

Saeko took a deep drink from the can and placed it on the table while making a satisfied cry. Oh, how she loved the taste of beer. After that she turned her attention toward to dark-blue head. At that very instant her smile faded away and the expression on her face got serious. She took a deep breath, the pupils of her golden-brown eyes sharpened.

"No that's a very good question. I'm not even sure how should I answer to you." she swirled around the half-empty beer can in her hands. "Let's say that Hinata's and Kageyama's fathers are very close. That's why when Hinata-father agreed to marry his daughter into Kageyama family of course Kageyama-father knew that he was meaning the sixteen year-old Natsu. Now wouldn't it be strange that this 'Natsu' suddenly transferred into third-year when she was supposed to be a first year."

"In order to completely deceive Kageyama family, even their son Tobio, we had Hinata to become the perfect Natsu. To the point he'll be entering the same school year as her." Kiyoko told boldly. When she realized that everyone was staring at her, her eyes wavered and she looked down while blushing. "Th- That's at least the order we got from Hinata-father."

Saeko sipped from the can. "Satisfied?"

Shimada sighed. These people were really working with a seriously warped up matter. Having a poor high school graduate acting like he was a female. He really wasn't the one to speak, though. His cases weren't always so innocent. More like, when someone needs documents to be falsified the case can never be harmless.

The honey-head stood up from her chair. Her intentions were to head towards Hinata, but the sudden rise made her to lose her balance. Thankfully Shimada managed to catch her just in time. "I think you have had enough for today." the man told and helped Saeko back to her chair. "EHH? Not fun!" the woman complained.

As she acted to be angry at Shimada, Saeko then glanced at Hinata. "Tomorrow's your first day at school, right?" When the orange-bush nodded his head, she continued. "Then let's have a break from training... and let's see... on Tuesday you'll be training with me." she let out a childish laugh.

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. "You mean we continue the training?" But they had been talking about a week. He thought that they would stop once the week had passed. This meant that he still had to bear the harsh lessons of that spartan teacher and the perfectionist, right? No. No. No. He didn't want it.

Saeko smirked, having satisfaction of seeing Hinata so worked up. "But of course. We're going to continue till you become the perfect woman."

The hell was going to continue.

* * *

Hair, check.

Make-up, check.

Uniform, check.

Hinata glanced at the mirror once again, to make sure that everything was perfect before he exited the room. His hair had the hairpieces attached, making long straights fall down from his bush along the chest and back line. This made his hair reach till middle back. The make-up was also very simple one, just little mascara and face powder. Even if he was going to use make-up, he wanted to look as natural as possible.

What came to school uniform, he liked it more than the one in his old school (of course he wanted to wear the male one, not the female one). Just like in the male uniform he had a white blazer, a white blouse and black tie. The skirt was black-colored and in order to hide as much of his legs as he could, Hinata decided to go with black cotton tights. The sports bra with push-up-pads made it seem, as if he actually had breast.

When Hinata had confirmed his appearance once again, he headed towards the dining hall. Like usually Miharu had already prepared breakfast for him and Kageyama. When she saw Hinata coming wearing the school uniform, the woman smiled kindly. "So your school uniform finally arrived. It looks really good on you." she complimented the boy, which made Hinata blush slightly. How could he look good in female uniform. Was his body-build really that female-like?

As Hinata was about to finish his breakfast, Kageyama walked down the stairs. When he entered the dining hall, Hinata was surprised to see him in school uniform. For the third-years the school had already ended, so it was strange. "You're going to school today?" the orange-head asked as Kageyama sat down to enjoy his breakfast.

Kageyama glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye. He noticed that Hinata was wearing the school uniform, which meant that the transfer was complete. He stuffed a piece of the fried egg and then answered. "Yeah. We're going to have a match."

Hinata tilted his head, but as Kageyama didn't bother to continue he left the answer disappear into air. He did pursue his lips a little, though - to show the raven-head that he was satisfied. But sadly it didn't work as Kageyama continue eating his breakfast while completely ignoring Hinata.

The orange-head sighed and got up. Miharu immediately ran to take the dishes away from the table. Hinata stared at the dark-haired man, still wondering if Kageyama had deserved it. But in the end he had woken up five in the morning to prepare it so it would be waste of food not to give it to him. Kageyama glanced at the boy, as he felt intense aura being emitted from the person. "What?" he mumbled, switching then his attention back to the food.

Hinata made few forced faces, but then sighed and placed a box on the table. The boy was wrapped by a simple navy-blue cloth. Kageyama stared at the box and then raised his head. "What is this?" his eyes were literally telling the boy to already disappear from his sight.

The orange-heads cheeks flushed red and he turned away from the boy. "It's bento. I prepared it for you." he mumbled between his breaths. Kageyama stared at the box, not moving. Hinata felt his body temperature raise and finally he snatched the box away, his head steaming from over heat. "No, forget! I bet that you wouldn't even like i-"

"Give it to me."

"Eh?" Hinata's eyes widened in shock, when he heard Kageyama's words. They came out as a command and Kageyama looked as if he wasn't going to repeat himself. "A bento is always bento, even if it's made by the likes of you." the dark-head then told, taking the final piece of his fried bacon. Hinata wanted to yell at the words, but gave up and placed the box on the table again. He wasn't in the mood to fight as the first thing in the morning. No matter how much Kageyama insulted him, he wouldn't fall for it.

"Then I head to scho-" Hinata was about to say, but his words were cut short. He turned to look at Kageyama with glazed eyes. The man shot him a murderous look, as if asking just what more the annoying woman wanted from him. The orange-head laughed weakly. "I don't know the way to the school."

Miharu, who walked into the dining hall to take Kageyama's dishes away, smiled. "Then why don't you Tobio-sama escort Natsu-sama to school?" she left a question hanging in the air. It was so fragile and tense, neither of the boys dared to break it. Finally Kageyama sighed as he stood up from the seat. Why he had to do so much for this useless person and complete idiot? Couldn't she survive on her own without bothering him about every single thing?

"I take you but only this one time, shrimp." the fierce sentence was spitted out from Kageyama's mouth, holding in every single ill emotion and thought he held towards the orange-head.

This was the start of Hinata's first school day.

 _This_  was  _only_  the  _start_  of it.


	9. Escort Done Right

It was a very peaceful morning in the Hinata household; the mother was preparing breakfast while her husband was reading the newspaper that had arrived in the morning. She stood near the stove, frying eggs and bacon while wearing simple cream-colored apron. When fried eggs and bacon were done and she had prepared the dishes, the woman sat down to enjoy the meal with her husband.

Ever since Natsu's death, and Hinata moving to live with Kageyama the mornings in the Hinata household had become very quiet and dark. Both of the parents were still in shock of having lost their daughter and marrying off their son. The cheerful voices of arguing siblings were gone and the warm of their presence was slowly disappearing. Those happy days were now a fragile memory, that could fragment any moment.

The woman sighed as she pulled her dark straight hair behind her ear. Taking a bite from her breakfast, she glanced at her husband who still had his face glued on the newspaper. "I wonder if it was the right thing to do..."

The end of her sentence was left unsaid as she couldn't finish it.

The head of Hinata family finally pulled his attention away from the newspapers and glanced at his wife. Being married for years he knew just from the tone of her voice that she was worried. Those beautiful eyes of her he had once fallen in love with were now swelled up, and she had dark bags under them.

Ever since Hinata left the house, she had cried herself to sleep every single night.

"What do you mean?" the man finally asked, even though he was clearly aware of the meaning of her words. His wife made a troubled face and while taking a bite of the bacon, she then spoke quietly,

"I mean about our Shoyo marrying the heir of Kageyama family. Detective Takeda told us to keep those two apart; he told us clearly that they should never meet each other." the woman said, and lowered her head. Two big pearls had appeared near her eyes from the thought that something bad could happen to her son. She had just lost her daughter; she couldn't bear if she was to lose Shoyo too.

The husband folded the newspapers and finally started his breakfast. He understood the worry of his wife but... "That's something stupid we were told eight years ago. We kept them apart for so long already and nothing happened... I'm sure that his words had no meaning to it; it was simple insignificant worry." he tried to cheer up his wife and assure that everything was alright; nothing bad was going happen to their son.

"I guess you're right..." the woman finally gave in and continued the breakfast. But no matter what her husband said to her she still had that unpleasant feeling. What could it be called, a maternal instinct?

Yes, it most definitely was a maternal instinct.

* * *

To the hell with that 'escorting to school' -stuff.

Hinata had crossed his arms in a very un-lady like manner as he sat into the car, and was staring outside, his brows furrowed. He had agreed to go by car because he thought that the school was far way, only to find out that actually it was less than a five-minute walk from their house; and now they had to take a detour because of his husband's personal issues.

Kageyama glanced at his wife, who looked as if her periods just started, and then turned to the driver. "You can stop the car here." he told, and when it had stopped he turned back to Hinata. "Now, do you remember the conditions?" the tone in his voice annoyed Hinata.

The carrot-head glanced at the raven with deathly glare. "Yeah yeah. We are strangers, and make sure that no one finds about our marriage. Don't come talk to you in school; we DON'T know each other. Walk to school from here and set up our meeting to be an accident... return home alone. Oh, and if someone asks if I'm related to you because of the same surname, deny it. After all we're complete STRANGERS." he nagged on and on.

Hinata didn't see point in of doing it. What was the purpose of Kageyama hiding his marriage? But now that he thought about it, Kageyama was the heir of an influential company; then why there hadn't been any press or media in their wedding? Had it really been held in secret? That matter hadn't occurred him before now.

Kageyama showed an approving expression and continued. "Walk down this street and you'll arrive at the school; I bet you won't miss it. Wait for me at the front gate. Once the car arrives do everything according to the plan." the raven-head told and his driver helped Hinata out of the car.

Hinata watched the car set off and sighed. Heading towards the direction Kageyama had showed him, he let another sigh escape. When Miharu had suggested Kageyama to escort him to school, he had imagined of something like them walking side by side... but never had the chance of driving around the town for twenty minutes so that Kageyama could explain the situation, being left in the middle way to walk the rest of the distance and actually carrying out Kageyama's plan, occurred his mind.

As Hinata continued walking, his mind still puzzled, he soon caught a glimpse of a white school building. The building was all white, still fresh - being built less that ten years ago - and well-organized, with only few trees in the school yard. Completely different from his old school, it gave out the feeling of riches guys school. In no time, Hinata finally arrived at the front gate of the Teikoku Academy.

Now only to wait for Kageyama.

It didn't take long for a black car park near the front gate. Hinata's expression brightened and he pulled himself together while heading towards the car. If he was to screw up then Kageyama would end him. The driver walked out and opened the door. From the car stepped out, what it seemed to be... a girl?

The ginger-head froze to that place, only to realize that even more black-colored cars started appear and parked, as the students of the elite school arrived. He was dumbstruck, completely taken aback by this sudden turn of events. How was he supposed to find Kageyama when he still hadn't remembered the mark or appearance of the car?

As Hinata swayed his head in panic, he didn't sense as a person with enraged expression approached him from the Maybach Exelero parked just behind him. "Oi, you're in my way!" Hinata jumped up from startle when he heard familiar voice. He turned to the boy with relieved look, but his face fell when his eyes met up with Kageyama's flaming ones. His whole presence was flaming with killing intent.

Hinata couldn't control his body's sudden urge to tremble, and as he tried to force himself to calm down - after all it was only Kageyama! - he muttered out. "Ca- ca- can you please tell me the way to faculty's room?" he asked, just like Kageyama had directed him.

The orange-head could felt temperature returning to his body, when the daunting aura slowly faded away. He hadn't noticed when it happened, but for a moment he had even stopped to breathe. Taking a deep breath, he then raised his head and peeked a glance at Kageyama.

The raven had turned back to his stone face, and spoke. "Follow me."

Without any further words, Kageyama headed towards the school building. It took seconds for Hinata to assimilate his words, and finally he dashed after his husband. As they walked forward, Hinata glanced around and realized two facts. Most of the students wore different colored uniform than them; a completely black one (in a way, they stood out). The second was; they were all staring at them (they really did stand out!).

"Oh, it's Kageyama-sama from 3-A why is he at school today?" a female student spoke.

"Eh? Didn't you hear that the volleyball club is having Promotion match today. All of the third years have come." she was being answered.

Kageyama-sama? Ohoho, so even people in school referred him with that ending. The fuck with people; he might be the heir of Kageyama family, but in the end he was nothing more than a human. Also, what they meant by Promotion match? Was Kageyama playing in a team; if yes, then exactly what team.

Hinata glanced at the boy. He was tall and popular, so most likely either soccer, basketball or baseball. Those were the teams with most fans after all.

"But who's that girl with him? I think I've never seen her?" a sudden question interrupted Hinata's flow of thoughts.

"Yeah, maybe a transfer student?"

"I think. But to think that Kageyama-sama is actually interacting with a girl."

"Maybe they know each other?"

Oh, so now they were whispering about him. Not that he really minded it, he had already gotten used to back in his old school. This just proved that no matter what was the social standing of the person people were all the same; whispering behind ones back was part of human nature.

"Kageyama-san!" the whole area fell silent immediately as a female approached the King of the school. Kageyama glanced at the girl with straight black hair and dark brown eyes and waited for her to continue. "What are you doing here? Everyone has already gathered up and they're waiting for you!" the third-year (now already retired) manager of the volleyball club scolded the setter.

Kageyama seemed to flinch, having forgotten all about the meeting because of the troubling orange-bush, but his expression soon returned to normal. He glanced at his wife from the corners of his eyes. "I go there immediately." It was useless to argue against her, he knew it very well. "But I would like you to take her to the faculty's room. It's her first day here, you see."

The third-year managed seemed to been taken aback by Kageyama's sudden request, but she nodded in agreement. After that she started pushing the raven-head towards the second gymnasium; he needed to hurry or the others would get mad at him. With a quick glance, Kageyama whispered to Hinata. "Break a leg."

That's when their ways parted.

As Kageyama headed towards the gymnasium, he heard the crowd (especially girls) around him whispering about his connection with the transfer student. It was getting on his nerves and he wanted to yell at them to shut up, but he also had an image to protect. An image of an unapproachable, cool and quiet boy who was into nothing but volleyball. He had spent three years establishing this image and he didn't want it to scatter into pieces when he had only three weeks till graduation.

His image was good because it kept those annoying fan girls away from him, but in this situation it backfired him hard. Everyone was curious why he was familiar with the new female student.

The most annoying ones would be his teammates.

"Oh, he's here! The King has arrived." an insult pierced through Kageyama's ears as soon as he slid the gymnasiums door open. His face darkened and he send murderous glare at Tsukishima Kei. "Arriving late like usual, King." Was a smug smirk he received from the four eyes.

"Hey, Tobiocchi tell me who that beauty was! The one you arrived to school with!" Oh, another annoying voice was heard. Kageyama tried to keep his calm when a person with lower-back length curlish blonde hair dashed towards him and wrapped his arms around the startled setter, while burying his head on Kageyama's chest.

"Oh, the King made his Queen jealous." Tsukishima kept mocking the setter whenever he had the chance. Kageyama pulled a nerve, but the other person didn't seem to mind the insult at all. He just turned to Tsukishima and smiled widely. "I bet you're actually the jealous one. Even Tobiocchi has accepted a girl to stay beside him, so our Tsukkii seems to be lonely."

"Don't dare to call me that." Tsukishima's voice dropped to dangerous level, but the other person didn't seems to mind it. He just continued with laughing tone.

"After all you've been chasing after Tobiocchi ever since middle school. But Tsukkii you must know that he will never look at your way, after all his head is full of Oikawa-san. Too bad for you Tsukkii."

"I told you to STOP calling me by that nickname." The calm middle blocker finally snapped. The whole gymnasium fell silent as everyone stared at Tsukishima, wondering what had upset him so much. Kageyama glanced at Tsukishima; he knew the reason for his bad mood, but after the sharp glare he received from his teammate, he decided to stay silent.

"Okay, done with the chit-chatting, better prepare for the upcoming match. I bet most of you haven't had the time to train recently, so let's warm up and stretch our bodies." the call from the captain, Matsuura Masato, finally returned the atmosphere back to normal.

"Haiii!" Isoya Nobuyuki, the blonde who was again clinging to Kageyama answered with enthusiastic voice. The other ones followed his lead, and slowly the retired third-years returned back to their daily warm up routine.

* * *

Meanwhile the team's manager and Hinata finally arrived at the faculty's room. The girl slid the door open and smiled at Hinata. "We're here." she told and Hinata thanked her. As he was about to enter, her words stopped him. "Are you and Kageyama-san acquaintance's?"

It took only split seconds for Hinata to recover from the shock and he smiled widely. "No, I just met him at the front gate and asked him to help me." with that he walked in and asked for the teacher who was supposed to be his home room teacher.

The manager was let stunned at the door and she stared at Hinata talking with his home room teacher. "Just asked him to help you? What a strange girl." she chuckled and headed towards the gymnasium.

"Oh, you're the new student transferring to our class." a male teacher in his middle thirties spoke, when he finally remembered that his class was getting a new student. It was a rare time; no one would change school when the year was about to end. "Kageyama Natsu, right?" he asked, Hinata nodded lightly. He noticed that almost every teacher turned their eyes at him just by the mention of his name. Was it because of Kageyama?

Most likely.

"This surname, by any case are you related to Kageyama Tobio?" it finally came, the deathly question. If Hinata remembered right, Kageyama had told about their marriage to the principal, but he wished to keep it a secret from the teachers and the student body. To this moment, the answer Kageyama taught him was...

"No we're not, we just happen to share the same surname." Did he do it right? Was this fine with Kageyama, he wouldn't end his life, right?

The teacher looked surprised at the answer, but closed his eyes and stood from his seat. "Come. Let's introduce you to the class, Kageyama." he told Hinata to follow him and the orange-bush went after him.

Finally they arrived at the 1-B classroom of the advanced class. The teacher turned to Hinata and told him to wait for a moment. He would call for him when to come inside. Hinata nodded and after the teacher disappeared into the classroom, his pulse suddenly fastened and the orange-head started to panic.

It was his first time being a transfer student; and let's not forget that he was wearing a female uniform. What was he supposed to do; how was he supposed to introduce himself? He needed to make good impression of himself, but also had to be careful not to mess up. If he was to make a grave mistake here, all the trouble he and Kageyama had gone through would be for nothing.

Hinata shook his head and slapped his cheeks. This wasn't the time to panic. He needed to calm down and think straight. Only to make sure that he wouldn't mess up anything. The orange-bush took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, repeating the motion few times.

"Kageyama, please come in." the teacher called for Hinata and the boy walked up. He was very nervous, and the fact that everyone's eyes were glued on him didn't help him to calm his nerves. The boy walked near the teacher and wrote his name on the blackboard.

"I'm Kageyama Natsu. I was transferred here due to fathers promotion. Also I play volleyball." he felt necessary to add the last part in the introduction even though neither Saeko - with whom he had trained it - or Kageyama had mentioned it. That was to show how much importance volleyball held in his life.

The whole classroom felt silent; though as someone started whispering it escalated quickly and soon everyone were quietly chatting with each other while staring at the transfer student.

"Okay, class quiet down. Kageyama your seat is the empty seat next to Kaion Emiko. Kaion, can you stand up?" the teacher instructed and soon a girl with short and spiky brownish-black colored hair stood up. Hinata walked to the empty seat next to the girl and when he glanced at her, she was smiling widely at him. "Can I trust Kageyama in your hands, Kaion?"

"Hai, hai." the girl smiled widely at the teacher, while her chestnut-colored eyes sparkled in excitement. Finally she sat down, but kept throwing quick glances at Hinata. The orange-bush laughed desperately, she was surely being over excited about something.

"Okay, let's start by taking the attendance." the teacher spoke and then took out a student-book where he had the names of his students listed down. "Aomine Amaya." he spoke the first name only to realize that - like usually - her seat was empty. His expression dropped a little and he put absence mark next to her name.

Hinata glanced at the empty seat on the window row. Was that her seat? Hmm, what kind of person she was, he wondered.

* * *

"Okay, let's pause the practice and enjoy our lunch." Matsuura instructed everyone as he lifted the last ball in the air, which Kageyama passed to Isoya, who spiked it near the back line, barely making it in.

Kageyama clicked his tongue. "Don't aim at the back line just to test how good your control is." he scolded the wing spiker, who was celebrating that he had managed to nail the ball in. The blonde glanced at the setter and smiled widely.

"Oh, don't worry Tobiocchi. I've been practicing my spikes with Nobucchi and now out of ten, nine will always go in." he laughed and wrapped his arm around Kageyama, who looked rather troubled by this sudden action. Even though they had been on the same team for more than two years, Kageyama still hadn't gotten used to Isoya's personality.

Kageyama's eyes narrowed. "If you cannot be one hundred percent sure that it'll go in, then don't aim there. Even if it might be hard place to receive the ball, if we lose even one point that could be the end of!" he scolded the ace of the team. Isoya looked dumbstruck for a moment for Kageyama's strictness, but then started to laugh.

"Tobiocchi, you're as serious as always." for a second his smile turned into smirk. "Don't worry, I won't aim there unless I know it'll go in." he assured the gloomy setter, but Kageyama wasn't convinced with it. He had worked hard to find the best course Isoya could spike at, but the wing spiker wasn't taking his effort seriously at all.

"Oi, King and Queen! We're heading to the cafeteria!" Haiba Lev called for the duo. He was only mimicking Tsukishima with the names, so when it came from his mouth it sounded more of a nickname than an actual insult, unlike when the four eyes spoke it.

"Yeah, if you chat any longer, we're going to leave you behind." Shibayama Yuuki shouted with a wide grin on his face. Isoya glanced at Kageyama and followed the others members. Kageyama was about to go after him, when he suddenly remember the bento he had received in the morning.

So instead, he walked to Tsukishima and Matsuura who had both brought their own lunches instead of going to cafeteria with the others. "Go without me, I have lunch prepared for me." the setter told as he started to take out his obento.

Kageyama could feel as the temperature in the gymnasium fell down about ten degrees. When he turned over holding the box in his arms, he saw everyone staring at him with frozen looks. Expressions like shock, startle and fear were written all over their faces. Isoya and Haiba were the worst ones; they had tears appearing to the corners of their eyes.

"Wha- Wha- What is this? Kageyama has actually brought a bento!" Kunimi freaked out, almost passing out.

"Do you see any pigs flying, well do you see? Pigs flying!" Isoya started running around the gymnasium trying to verify if he could spot pigs flying outside.

"No it must be it! A wolf has died in the woods!" Haiba fell on his knees, defeat written all over his face.  **(1)**

Kageyama stared at the freaked out trio and glanced at Matsuura and Tsukishima who seemed to be the only sane ones in the gymnasium. They had taken this shock the easiest, remaining calm and silent. Kageyama wondered what actually could shock the captain and the middle blocker. "Is really that bad, for me to bring a bento?"

"Of course it is!" Kageyama almost jumped in startle when he heard Shibayama speaking. The guy was so small that he didn't even notice when he had suddenly approached him. The dark-haired shortie had tears rolling down his cheeks. "For three years you never brought obento to school even though Miharu-san went all the trouble making one to you every morning. And now, after all the years you suddenly bring one and even dare to ask if it's that bad. THIS IS A SHOCK! A REPORT OF A LIFE TIME!"

"More over, this bento isn't made by Miharu-san." Isoya mumbled, when staring at the un-covered tori bento which had tamagoyaki added to it.

"Hey-!" Kageyama snapped when he realized that the blonde had stolen the box from him. When had he managed to do that?

"Ah, could it be!?" the blonde suddenly seemed to have an idea. "This is from the girl from the morning. She wanted to thank you and gave her bento to you?" he suggested, and everyone turned to Kageyama waiting for his answer.

It was getting troubling, Kageyama thought as he was suddenly in the middle of everyone's attention. But actually Isoya did good, this saved him from the trouble to think and explain how he had gotten the bento. "Well, yes. Something like that did happen."

"Tobiocchi..." tears appeared into the trios eyes.

"Oi, if you don't leave now you all have to run the gymnasium ten times as a punishment." Matsuura commanded everyone. He had to do something to avoid the drama scene expanding further, and of course, threatening was the best way.

"Yes, captain..." everyone answered with disappointed looks.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Matsuura's nerve pulled hard. What were their issue?

"YES, CAPTAIN." the quartet answered with loud voices and dashed towards the cafeteria.

Matsuura sighed at the childish behavior of this teammates and glanced at Kageyama, who was staring at the bento box in his arms. "Sorry about them..." he subconsciously apologized to the raven setter. Kageyama just glanced at him and flashed a smirk of apology accepted.

Meanwhile Tsukishima was staring at Kageyama with eerie look on his face.  _'As if you would accept a bento from a girl you just met. I know you better than that, King.'_  he thought and then changed his attention towards his own bento.  _'But if it really was from her, then I wonder who on earth is that girl...'_


	10. His Longing, Their Pride

Before Hinata realized it, it was already the lunch break. The first three breaks had felt so similar to his old school that for a moment he even forgot that he had actually transferred schools. What brought him back to reality were the teachers, who obviously were different.

During those breaks no one had approached him. They had only shot few curious glances whispering to each other, but clearly kept distance from the transfer student. What Hinata remembered about transfer students from his old school - for the first days until they became part of the class, they were the center of everyone's attention - like celebrities. So this kind of behavior felt strange.

But it's not like Hinata minded it, vice versa, this made things a lot easier for him who had always been the loner of the class. He didn't like to draw attention, especially negative one; the less people came talk to him the better. At least he could have a peaceful school life.

Out of routine from Karasuno days, Hinata put his books to his bag, sighed of despair and finally fell on his desk wrapping his arms around his head. The orange-bush closed his eyes and heard the other students chatting happily - he could even hear topics about him mixed within them.

Unconsciously the boy let out a gloomy smile; it felt so familiar - students whispering about him even though he could clearly hear them. The only thing that lacked was the cheerful cries of Nishinoya and Kenma who had come to pick him up.

Hinata's heart squeezed.

Remembering his friends hurt to the point he wanted to cry in pain. No - leaving them without even saying a word, Hinata didn't even deserve to be called their friend anymore. He still could remember the doleful expression Kenma had worn when Hinata ran away from the pudding-head. He had betrayed the only friends he had held so dear.

Oh, how much he missed them. At this point Nishinoya would run into the classroom and announce happily that they came to pick Hinata up for lunch. He would then yell at everyone who was talking bullshit about his ginger-head friend. Kenma would walk to Hinata and threat everyone, making things even worse. They would then both look at him and smile happily while calling him _'Shouyou-kun'._

_"Kageyama-chan!?"_

Hinata was startled awake by the unexpected call. He raised his head and behind a blurry vision saw a faint outline of a female. The boy blinked his eyes and felt as a tear drop ran down his cheek.

_Huh?_

"Kageyama-chan are you alright?" The person asked in worried tone. Hinata quickly dried his teary eyes (how embarrassing, to think that he actually ended up crying) and smiled at the person.

"Yeah, just perfectly fine," he answered, even though just a moment ago he had been in the verge of tears. It was only now that he finally recognized the person standing before him. Her spiky and unkept neck length hair was brownish-black in color and she had chestnut-colored eyes with big pupils. She was obviously taller than Hinata had that body structure of an athlete. Her skin was already slightly tanned, even though it was only March.

If Hinata remembered right, this girl was the one who was supposed to help him adapt to the new school. Her name was Kaion Emiko - that if his memory didn't betray him. What exactly did she want from him?

Emiko let out a desperate smile, wondering if the person who had just been crying ones eyes out was really alright, but soon remembered the real reason she had called for Hinata. "Say Kageyama-chan, do you want to join us for lunch?" Emiko said, pointing at herself and then the two people sitting around her desk. The two girls smiled at Hinata, and the boy then turned his head back to Emiko.

He was speechless. This was his first time anyone beside Nishinoya and Kenma had asked him to join lunch with them. This was the first time a girl had approached him without her whole body shaking in fear (the reason for that was most likely, because he was dressed up like a girl...).

"Kageyama-chan?" Hinata was returned back to the reality after a worried question. He glanced at Emiko and then laughed desperately. "Well, if you don't mind me joining you..."

"Wah! It's settled then! Ka-chan, Mi-chan!" the girl clapped her hands happily and helped Hinata to move his desk next to her. When the desks had been put together, the three girls and Hinata-boy moved their chairs around them. Each of the three girls took out her obento.

"Kageyama-chan, don't you have bento with you?" Emiko wondered, as the orange-head had no lunch before her. Hinata, who had once again wandered into his imaginary world, snapped out of it and leaned towards his bag to take out his bento.

He had been in charge of making bento for more than three years already, so there was no way he would forget it. Hinata opened the wrapping and started his meal. He watched closely from the sides as the three girls before him chatted happily.

The atmosphere was so warm; so this what it felt to be part of the class. This place was the very place he had yearned for all his years - to be part of the class circle, to chat happily with everyone. It was so dazzling, stepping out of the shadow into the sun, that he felt tears forming into corners of his eyes.

But even though he had finally been accepted as part of the class, something felt different. He wasn't all that happy as he had expected to be. Taking a bite from his tamagoyaki, Hinata realized. The reason why his chest itched despite all the happiness, what because those two weren't beside him. The causes of the pair were Nishinoya and Kenma.

"Whoa, your bento looks so yummy! Did your maid make it for you?" Came an unexpected question.

"Pardon?"

"I'm talking about your bento," Emiko repeated while pointing at the half eaten box in Hinata's arms. "Did your maid prepare it for you?" The other two had also stopped chatting and stared at Hinata with curious looks.

Hinata glanced at his bento. "A maid? No way! Miharu-san did mention something about giving me a hand, but in the end I have made my own bento's since Jr. High," he shook the topic with a laugh. He continued on, only to realize that the three girls were staring at him with serious looks.

"Um... Did I say something wrong?" He questioned, not understanding why the girls were so serious.

Emiko was the first one to recover. "No, I was just surprised that you made it own your own. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do it." She told honestly showing a weak smile at Hinata.

"I think I have never in my life even stepped into the kitchen." The orange-haired girl stated while taking a bite of her bento. Her eyes then turned at the last person. "What about you, Kazu?"

The girl with straight chestnut-colored hair tied up on side pony tail fixed her rimless glasses and replied with a quiet voice, "I have the habit of forgetting to eat unless someone brings food to me." It wasn't clear if she was praising her inability to cook or the fact that people took care of her to the point they brought food to her.

Hinata stared at the three girls with his mouth wide open. He wasn't even sure how he was supposed to react to these news. How in the world there could be people in Japan who had never set their foot into the kitchen? Just what kind of rich and spoiled young masters were these people? What kind of school was this?

While Hinata was still recovering from the shock, Emiko made a quick glance at the boy wearing the female uniform. Her simple glance slowly turned into intense stare as she furrowed her brows. At some point the stare turned into glare, emitting a strange aura from behind.

Hinata backed off from the girl. "Wha- Wha- What it is?" He stammered.

Emiko drew her finger near her lip and pushed it against her teeth. "I think that we forgot something very important-"

_**"Ah!"** _

"Ah!"

_"Ah?"_

The three girls voiced one after another, the chestnut-haired having a tone of confusion and question in her voice. Emiko then grinned widely at Hinata. "We forgot to introduce ourselves."

"I'm Nakashima Michiyo, nice to meet you." Came out a confident introduction from the orange-haired girl. Her hair was pulled back and kept in place with a blue-colored headband which matched her ocean-blue eyes. She had very light skin tone, was slender and had very adult like appearance. Hinata had taken a notice of her since the very beginnig, but this made things clear for him. Michiyo definitely was those "popular" and "class-leader" like persons; the ones he got along with the worst.

"Furukawa Kazuko, I like painting..." The chestnut-haired girls last words disappeared beneath her breath. Her face looked troubled and she quickly hid behind the painting book she was holding in her arms. Unlike Michiyo's adult look, Kazuko resembled more of a weak and petite princess, who was waiting for her knight in shining armor riding a white horse come and take her away to his country. Most likely Kazuko was the type to shut herself out from the outside world; in many ways they were similar, so Hinata was sure that they could get along well.

"And I'm Kaion Emiko. Just like Kageyama-chan, I have a thing for volleyball," Emiko winked her eye while smiling widely. Her brownish-black hair was messed up to the point Hinata wondered if it was a new fashion. In many ways, Emiko was placed between Kazuko and Michiyo - she didn't look as childish as Kazuko but she didn't have the adult look of Michiyo. It was obvious that she was the athlete type, which was the type Hinata got along well; at least if the other party was willing to befriend him.

A chuckle escaped from the orange-head as he thought that Emiko reminded him of Nishinoya. That would make Kazuko like Kenma and Michiyo would most likely be... Natsu. The flashbacks of his sister made his chest hurt, and Hinata glanced away from the trio. Doing this, he received concerned glances, which made him to show fake smile.

Michiyo and Emiko changed glances at the weird behavior of their new classmate, but shook it off with a shrug. The orange-head then spoke, as she was packing her finished lunchbox. "Say Emi, didn't the volleyball club have Promotion match today?"

Emiko glanced at her friend trying to recall, where she had heard the name. "Ah, right! Promotion match! I better go and watch it!" Her expression brightened and her usual smile returned. The girl turned to look at Hinata. "Do you want to come along?"

"Eh? But I..." Hinata hesitated. Of course he wanted to; he would love to do anything related to volleyball, but wasn't sure if Kageyama would like the idea.

Emiko grinned. "Okay! It's decided then!" She threw her fist high in the air. At the same time the bell rang, and students started to return to classroom.

_"EHH?"_

* * *

"Everyone, let's assemble!" Matsuura's yell echoed in the second gymnasium and the third years stopped practicing. They gathered around their captain and sat down to take a break and have a drink. Matsuura was the only one who remained standing.

The captain checked everyone from his team and then smiled. "Good it seems that we've gotten our rhythm back. Now about the upcoming match against our juniors. " He started and took a sip from his bottle. "It's usually rare for such thing to happen but as you all know, our team is gathered from the strongest individuals of our generation. We've managed to enter inter-high and spring high for three years in a row and even managed to win the championship thrice. That's very well done from a school that was established only ten years ago."

"In our second year, it was us seven who managed to pull our team all the way to semi finals of inter-high. During that match we all realized that we still lacked something, and after crushing defeat we went home and practiced non-stop for four months. It was thanks to this lesson and our desperate will to get stronger than we managed to win the championship in spring high." Matsuura showed a wide smile to everyone.

"But even as strong as we were, you guys never took our wins for obvious. You didn't let loose even once and always chased after the ball. You were so serious about playing, that thanks to someone certain one hiding his ankle injury we almost lost against a no-name school." The captain flashed a murderous glare at Kageyama who gulped loudly and glanced away from him. Isoya patted Kageyama's back strongly and flashed him a wide teeth grin.

"Thankfully we managed to pull though thanks to our substitute setter. The match against Karasuno was our toughest match. No one of us who've guessed that they had fourth years who were actually allowed to play. And they weren't just any fourth years, they had to be the strongest Karasuno players in their history; The Brain and The Guardian Diety. After that the other teams weren't as much trouble as the crows and we won the championship." Matsuura crossed his arms and smiled proudly at this team.

"Captain!" Haiba Lev raised his hand to get a permission to speak.

"Yes?" Matsuura answered, sounding annoyed for the fact that his speech was interrupted.

"When are you going to finish, I want to go and play more!" The middle blocker questioned and yawned loudly. Everyone else lowered their heads in silent agreement and Matsuura's vein popped. He had finally gathered the team to hold an appreciation speech and this is how his team treated him.

"I'm about to end so sit still for a moment and shut up!" The white-head snapped. After the silent moment as everyone turned their attention towards him, he coughed and continued. "We have went to harsh and long road to get here and even managed to receive the nickname "Generation of En Passant' along the way. But our journey isn't over just yet. We still have to show our juniors what exactly it means to be a champion team. We have to pass along the "Teikoku" spirit that our seniors passed to us."

At the end of his speech, Matsuura added the final touch. "We might have won the Promotion match last year, but mark my words. I will never forgive you if we are to lose to our juniors. LET'S GO AND WIN!"

"OOOH!" Isoya yelled loud and Haiba and Shibayama joined him. Kunimi, Kageyama and Tsukishima didn't seem to be so enthusiastic with it, but their eyes were burning with fervour and the desire to play volleyball.

"It's sure is hot in here! Be sure not to set this place on fire, volleybaka's." Came out a female voice when the gymnasiums door slid open. The manager of the team entered the building while wearing an apron and carrying two big boxes. She was accompanied with two other girls, who were the current managers of the team. "Thanks girls, you can go now. I can handle the rest."

"Handa-san!" Everyone greeted their manager. She took off the apron and undid the high bun that kept her long hair in place. After that the manager, Handa Kou opened the boxes and smiled at the volleyball team members.

"I made some onigiri's with the girls, come on and enjoy." Kou told. There wasn't much a manager could do for the team, especially a team as strong as these boys. Less alone, a retired manager was even more unuseful, but Kou wanted to be a help for her team till the very end. So, she had gathered the second years managers and helped her to make onigiris' for the team.

The boys glanced at other and smiled widely. Now that they thought about it, they hadn't eaten anything since the lunch break. Isoya's stomach started grumbling loudly and he laughed childishly at the sound. Matsuura smiled. "Then let's take a break and enjoy the onigiri's our manager has prepared for us."

Once everyone had had their portion of the food, Kou put away the boxes. She then gathered up everyone's bottles and went to fill them up. When she returned Kou stared at her the team for a moment and small smile escaped from her lips. She was so glad that she had become their manager. She was so thankful that she could help them for the past three years. They were so dear to her. And now... this dear team was breaking apart.

While in the thoughts, Kou noticed something different in one of the players. Her eyes narrowed in thoughtful manner and she walked closer to Tsukishima. "Say Kei-chan," there is came, Kou's habit to call people by their first names with adding -chan to the end (everyone, expect for Kageyama. She wasn't stupid enough to call the schools king merely by his first name; that's how much she valued her own life). "Have you grown taller again?"

Tsukishima glanced at the manager and then at himself. "I guess my body has been hurting for a while." He stated monotony. It had been on his last year of Jr High that he had had his grown spurt that he hadn't connected the pain to it. When was it that he would finally stop growing?

"What, you mean you're taller again?" Kageyama yelled in disbelieve and stood up next to Tsukishima. The difference between the two of them wasn't big, but it was fair enough to realize the growth of Tsukishima. "SHIT SHIT SHIT! It took me three years to catch up to your height and now you tell me you grew taller again!"

Tsukishima smirked at the desperate sight of his teammate. "I guess that even the King can't catch up to me." He provoked the angered Kageyama, who took hold of his bite. Dark aura surrounding Kageyama, he took hold of Tsukishima's shirt and was about to land a blow on the middle blocker; that's if Isoya hadn't come to a rescue.

"Oh, so Tsukicchi is closer to reaching my height, but I guess you never will! Ahaha! I will always be the tallest one here! How COOL is that!" To tell the truth, he hadn't really come to a rescue, Isoya just wanted to brag about his height. And indeed the blonde was tall; even Haiba who at the height of 194cm was the second tallest member on the team, was 15cm's shorter than the gigantic Isoya.

Matsuura and Shibayama were watching from the sidelines and everyone had gathered around Tsukishima and the idiotic Isoya. The former one sighed loudly. "Even if I'm not exactly short one, I feel myself l midget when surrounded by those guys."

"If you're midget then that would make me a dwarf! How do you think I feel when even the manager is taller than me?" Shibayama had lake of tears rolling down his cheeks. Matsuura chuckled at the boys reaction; truly anyone would feel being a dwarf when he was the only member with the height less than 180cm. But he loved this team; he loved every single person in the team.

And there was someone, they still hadn't thanked.

"Everyone, gather up!" Matsuura then yelled and everyone stopped fooling around immediately and headed towards their captain. Only Kou was left watching from the side. She assumed Matsuura was going to say a words of encouragement for the team, and so was completely caught of guard when the captain suddenly turned towards her.

"Handa Kou-san, I thank you for the depths of my heart for taking care of us volleyball idiots and enduring with us for these three long years!" Matsuura yelled with serious tone in his voice and bowed deep. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" The rest of the team followed after their captains example and bowed deep while yelling in union.

Kou backed off from the team while trying to hold up her tears. This really meant that they were going to fall apart soon. The girl dried her eyes and smiled happily. "I'm not worth of your sweet words... But if you really want to show your gratitude, then go and beat our juniors in the Promotion match." She encouraged everyone.

"OOOOH!" Matsuura and the rest of the boys held back their tears while yelling.

* * *

"Kageyama-chan let's go!" Emiko shouted loudly when the last bell rang and the class was dismissed. Before Hinata could pack his books to bag, she took hold of his wrist and dragged the poor orange-bush into hallway.

"Ah, Kaion-kun..." Hinata panicked of the sudden kidnapping. Emiko turned to him while still running and smiled widely. "Just call me Emiko."

"Etto... Emiko-kun... I don't think we need to be in such hurry. The game won't start in another 15 minutes." The ginger-head corrected himself, but Emiko didn't seem to hear him; vice versa she only picked up her speed.

Once they reached the shoe lockers, Emiko finally stopped for a moment to speak up. She rapidly turned towards Hinata and spoke, her eyes flaming with intense heat. "This is where you're wrong, Kageyama-chan. Don't underestimate the power of our volleyballclubs fanclub. Those fangirls are like felines when it comes to the members of volleyballclub. Once we enter the second gymnasium we enter the battlefield of front row places."

Hinata gulped. Things went more crazy with every word he heard about the school. Of course he knew that sports club tend to have fangirls; back in Karasuno there was always a pack of girls watching the practice; but to the point that it was to be called a battlefield? Exactly why?

"Oh, we're here! Now Kageyama-chan, let the battle start!" Emiko smiled at the orange-head as they entered the stand. It was filled with girls screaming, chatting and squealing. Like back when he had first entered the school, Hinata noticed that most of the students were wearing all black uniform - he and Emiko stood out. He did spot few black-and-white uniforms among the student body.

Pushing their way through Emiko headed towards the center of the stand, where the best spots were. Hinata was surprised to see that there were also few male students who had come to watch the match. All of a sudden, Emiko spotted a glimpse of orange hair wearing a white uniform, that didn't belong to Hinata. She was standing at the front row in the best spot, where they could perfectly see the both sides.

"Mi-chan, you've come to watch the game as well?" Emiko questioned her friend, wondering how she had managed to get there before them even though they had clearly left the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

Michiyo turned at her friend and smiled widely. "There's no way I'm going to miss this match. Especially not when he's playing." The orange-haired girl smirked widely and Emiko smiled to her as an answer.

"Players assemble!" Was a loud yell coming from the coach, who was going to judge the match. Next to him was standing Handa Kou and the three second-year managers. The trainer, the club advisor and two first year managers were standing on coach's other side.

The players lined on the back line of the court and bowed at each other. As soon as this was done the fangirls started yelling and screaming each of their idols names. Hinata felt his chest tightening as he watched the players. He wanted to play too. He wanted to stand on the court and touch the ball!

It was only then when his eyes spotted the boy with raven-head and dark blue eyes. The boy's brows were furrowed down and he was wearing a sharp scowl. His whole essence made it look like he wanted the squealing fan girls out of the hall, but no avail to his glare the girls pitch of the voice went up by another scale.

Hinata felt sweat running down his body. He knew who that person was...

_KAGEYAMA?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allow me to introduce to you the third-year club members of Teikoku High! 
> 
> (The number in front is their shirt number, the nicknames are to be explained in following chapter. Also the members original team from the series, or if they're an OC is mentioned)
> 
> 1\. Wing Spiker - Matsuura Masato - Ex-Captain/Bishop - 182,3 cm [OC]  
> 2\. Wing Spiker - Isoya Nobuyuki - Queen - 210,1 cm [OC]  
> 3\. Setter - Kageyama Tobio - King - 188,4 cm [Karasuno]  
> 4\. Wing Spiker - Kunimi Akira - Bishop - 185,2 cm [Aoba Jousai]  
> 5\. Middle Blocker - Tsukishima Kei - Rook - 191,2 cm [Karasuno]  
> 6\. Libero - Shibayama Yuuki - Castle - 162,3 cm [Nekoma]  
> 7\. Middle Blocker - Haiba Lev - Rook - 195,3 cm [Nekoma]


	11. The Generation Of En Passant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating anything here, even though I've been active on Fanfiction. I promise I'll catch up with the udaptes! You can be sure to wait for a new chapter next week!

_Why hadn't he realized it earlier?_

It all made sense to him now.

Everything was clear. Before him, on the court, was standing the blue-eyed and black-haired setter of Teikoku Gakuen, that Kageyama Tobio. Hinata should've recognize him, after all he had met the setter in person and even had had the chance to play against this legend.

His husband's name and surname were the same; Kageyama Tobio – he was even enrolling to the same school; Teikoku. Even his appearance was the same; black hair, blue eyes and the height of 190cm's – adding to that, the person was wearing his trademark glare.

All the pieces fit in.

Then how come he hadn't realized it earlier? How in the world he hadn't connected his husband to the setter of Teikoku? Hinata took a deep breath while closing his eyes. As he opened them while exhaling slowly, the boy got caught off guard at the scene opening before him.

It was all so bright and clear; as if a dark cloth covering his eyes has been removed, and for the first time in weeks Hinata was able to see clearly. The man standing before his eyes was his husband, the legendary setter of Teikoku, Kageyama Tobio.

The reality was harsh and hit him hard.

"Kageyama-chan, Kageyama-chan?" The orange-head snapped out of it, when he heard his name being called. With stiff movements the boy turned his head towards her and forced a smile on his face. His expression was priceless; his eyebrows were risen up and his eyeballs almost popped out from their orbit. On top of that his face was pale as snow and he was wearing a forced smile with his white teeth flashing brightly at the girl.

"You- okay?" Michiyo questioned, furrowing her eyebrows. She had never seen a person looking so freaked out. Was everything alright with this person?

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Emiko waved her arms before Hinata's eyes to get the boys attention. She was at lost for what to do. For the first 10 minutes of the match, the orange-head had stood still and stared straight ahead without even blinking his eyes. What caught Hinata so off guard?

Hinata forced his smile even wider and nodded rapidly. He tried to reassure him and the two girls that he was alright. There was nothing shocking about finding out that your supposed husband is not only a heir of wealthy family, but the most renowned person of the high school volleyball.

A chuckle was heard.

It was followed by resonating giggles until the person burst into laughter.

"Haha, ehehe haa HAA!" The person was literally laughing their ass off, making everyone around them flash curious yet piqued glances at them. Hinata could hear as slowly the girls around them started to whisper around and nod in agreement. It was the habit of human being and the fact didn't change even in Teikoku. All people were the same.

"Huu-u, Huu-u." The stranger finally calmed down and breathed loudly in and out to catch their breath. They whipped away the tears of joy from the corners of their eyes and then smiled loudly. Michiyo raised her eyebrow, while a wide smile appeared on Emiko's face.

"Hotaru-senpai!" Emiko sounded far too surprised for a person who obvious had recognized the person. Maybe it was her way of acting formal, or she was just playing oblivious. The said person glanced at the black-head and smiled widely.

"It's Captain, not Hotaru-senpai, Emiko-kun." She corrected the first year student with slightly playful tone. Hinata turned towards the person and realized that – in a fact – it was a girl.

The girl had straight dark brown hair and parting on the right side, and her eyes were the same hue as her hair. She was as tall as Hinata, had a slightly tanned skin with athletic body and slightly curvy bust. In many ways he looked pretty much like a standard person, having no make up and very simple hair-cut, but Hinata found this fact beautiful. She somehow reminded him of his mother.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat at the thought of his mother. His parents, how were they? Did they get the money needed; had his father managed to save the company? Were they happy?

Hinata wanted to meet them.

The brown-head moved, making a slightly painful expression when she dumped into one of the audience. Hinata checked her from head to toes and realized that she had her leg on plaster cast and was using crutches to move around. It must be an injury from a match; Hinata thought, having understood from the conversation that the brunette was the captain of the volleyball club.

"You've come to watch the game too?" Emiko questioned from her senior who had been just named as the new captain of the girls volleyball club. Sadly she had been injured in the finals and was unable to join the practice for two months. For that reason, she also couldn't join the team for the Promotion match.

"That guy kept begging me to, so I had no other choice but to agree. Also, I'm still not able to play, so cheering is the best I can do at the moment." Hotaru showed a daring smile, when she remembered the guy coming all the way to her front door and beg her to come and watch the boy's match. Sometimes he went so much overboard. "What about you? How's your leg?"

Emiko glanced at her right leg which she had sprained due to over training and chuckled. "I'm able to join the training next week." Thankfully the sprain was found out soon and she was only forbidden to join the practice for a week time.

Hotaru looked relieved to know that. They were in trouble for having two of their players injured, and this was affecting the groups morale and the effectiveness of practice. "Good. I will join you guys in spring break." She assured, hoping inside that they would have more members joining them in spring break and at the start of new year.

The girls smiled at each other. Then Emiko glanced at Hinata, and all of a sudden jumped as if she had remembered something. "Ah, right. We will have new member joining us." She told to Hotaru and then pushed Hinata over to the girl. "She's Kageyama Natsu, the girl transferred to our class today and it seems that she's been playing volleyball."

Hotaru let out a smile and pulled out her arm, putting all of her weight on her one leg and arm. "I'm Akiyama Hotaru, it's nice to meet you."

"Hi- Kageyama Sho-Natsu." The boy had trouble to remember his fake name and ended up screwing up his introduction. Arg! It was so embarrassing that he wanted to crawl under a rock.

Hotaru let out a light laugh. "Shonatsu. What a weird name."

"No, it's Natsu." Hinata was crying a lake of tears, cursing the very day for being so mean on him. First Kageyama and now this. What more could happen?

"Girls, stop chitchatting! You're missing the best part! Look!" The trio snapped out of it when their heard Michiyo's angry voice. It seemed that she was most likely the only one of them who had paid any attention to the match. Hinata checked the score board only to realize that it was already 15-7 for the third years.

Currently the ball was being spiked by the second-first year team, but Kunimi and Tsukishima managed to block it without much sweat ending up being a fly ball. Shibayama was already running after it, but Kageyama's vigorous yell interrupted him. He stayed in the back line, letting Matsuura get it while Kageyama headed towards the center of the court.

"Oh, isn't that?" Hotaru let out a surprised breath when she saw the ball being passed to Shibayama instead of Kageyama - who as setter usually got the second touch. The libero dashed forward and jumped just behind the attack line, tossing the ball to Kageyama, who then spiked it down on the second-first years count, obtaining a point for his team.

"Castling." Michiyo smirked, looking proud.

"Castling?" Hinata asked, not understanding the point. For him it looked like a regular setter-toss maybe by libero. Why it had to be named so weirdly?

"Yeah, the principal of this school is a chess maniac for him this looks like castling move used in chess." Emiko laughed. She sometimes wondered why people adopted into the weird namings' of the principal. He was just an old guy who started to mistake students for his children.

"You're new here so you don't know it... In volleyball, which the principal also loves, each position is named after chess pieces... Oh and, the third years are called the Generation Of En Passant. A weird name now isn't it." Hotaru chuckled. Hinata could only nod as an agreement. Why would anyone call them that? What did that even mean?

The trio then turned their attention back to the court where the rotation had gone to the point that Shibayama was going out and Haiba came into the court. The serve was currently for the third years and it was Kageyama who was standing behind the backline. He bounced the ball few times to get a touch of it and after the whistle threw it up and took a multistep approach and jumped, hitting it hard with palm of his hand.

Once the game was resumed, Hotaru pointed at the white-head who was wearing the captain band. "The captain of the third year team is that albino wing spiker - though here in Teikoku we tend to call them Bishops." She corrected herself, bringing out the first nickname for the players. "His name is Matsuura Masato. He's kind in person, but strict when it comes to practice and volleyball. Mostly likely the only person who would be able to keep a team like this together."

The boys wearing a pretty simple white uniforms with black text ran after the volleyball, keeping it high in the air while tossing and passing it forward. The ball flew from one side of the court to other until it finally landed on the third years side after a strong strike made by the second year captain.

As the second year player served the ball, Emiko then pointed at a boy with short and straight brown-hair who was looking as if he had just been woken up from a great dream and was super pissed off.

"The other Bishop is that very pissed yet lazy looking guy out there. He's Kunimi Akira, and well... he's little bit of a weirdo. It is said that he's smart and has excelled game sense, but he rarely seems to show whole 100% of it. It such a shame." Emiko sighed. She knew that the third years were all best of their year, but somehow it was disappointing that they didn't show all of what they got. "Yet, he's still very strong. I don't even want to know what kind of monster he would be once he reveals his full power."

Third years made a point and got their serve back. They rotated their positions and Shibayama was moved off court whereas Tsukishima came in. Emiko then pointed at the blonde, who was walking to his position.

"The tall guy with short blonde hair and glasses is Tsukishima Kei. He's middle blocker - or Rook as we tend to call them." The second nickname came out, and Hinata started to wonder why the positions were named in such names. "In many ways he gives same kind of feeling like Kunimi, which makes it impossible to know what he's thinking about. Though, this mysterious personality gets him whole bunch of girls fangirling over him. Tsukishima is a monster, and has strong rivalry against Kageyama. It appears that they have been in the same team since elementary school."

Hotaru laughed at the explanation of her junior and then pointed at the gray-head who was yelling loudly and jumping after the ball with slightly clumsy movements. Yet, he was able to keep up after the ball, earning a point for his team.

"The other Rook is Haiba Lev, the guy second tallest guy with gray hair. He's half Russian. He's kind of hard to control with his passionate yet childish personality. His height and mobility are his most dangerous weapons. Out of the guys in the right side of the court, he has the most less of experience, he started volleyball in high school."

During the next ball the second-first year team managed to get a point back, which made the third years to switch their libero to the court. The girls both showed a soft smile at the small guy, who ran into his position while cheering his teammates.

"Then is the Castle, the libero Shibayama Yuuki. He's the only person who is shorter than 180cm, but still he made his way in into the regular line up. His powers are to be noted though, and his team work is one of the most excellent one. He get's along with everyone on the team, even outside the practice. He even can work well with Kageyama." Emiko explained.

Hotaru was about to talk about the setter, but all of a sudden Michiyo barged her way in and started to speak. "Kageyama Tobio, The King, The Setter. He's been called the King since the spring of his first year, being the longest King active." She showed a smug smirk and continued. "He's a rude hot-head with passion only for volleyball. He's always been aiming for perfection because of what some people have even quit the team, for they weren't able to co-operate with him. He's a hard nut to crack."

Her comment left the other two dumbfounded for a moment, but they made a fast recovery by shaking their heads. After that there was only one person left. Emiko glanced at Hotaru, waiting for words and when the girl just nodded, she spoke.

"And then there's the Queen, Kageyama's most worthy partner, the ace of the team and wing spiker. He's the tallest blond, Isoya Noyuki. Isoya's parents are from America, but they've been working for so long in Japan, they have changed their family name into Japanese one. He's the true monster of the team, during practices he's mostly cheerful and childish, but once he steps into the count during a real match, the devil is out."

"He makes me want to smack him." Hotaru added to this.

Hinata was amazed about the team. Of course he knew about it, they were national champions, but still seeing them before his very eyes made them looked even bigger and stronger. The more he heard about them, he more he wanted to have a chance to play with such awesome people.

_He wanted to play!_

"Oh, it's already the match point." Michiyo stated, realizing that the score board was showing 24 points for the third years.

The serve was back to third years and it was Matsuura's turn to serve. "This set goes to third years." Hotaru suddenly said, receiving three pair of confused eyes. "Matsuura's trump card is his topspin serve which is one of the strongest and fastest in the region. He will surely use it to score the last point."

Just like Hotaru predicted, Matsuura used topspin serve and served an ace obtaining the last and winning point for the third years. The first set of the game went to third years with the score of 25-15.

* * *

Kageyama bounced the ball of the floor few times and prepared himself for the jump serve. The ball went in well direction, but the serve was too weak and was easily received by the first year libero. The second years made an attack, but it was stopped by Kunimi-Tsukishima wall.

The ball fell on the second-first year side of the court.

A whistle was heard.

It was the end of the set and the game.

Third years had won the second set as well.

The match was over.

A silence filled the whole hall, until some claps were heard. This quickly escalated into loud cheering and clapping and the two teams gathered on the black lines and bowed. The second years cried out loud while hugging each other. They were down, of course, they had just lost a match against their seniors; their paragons, who were to graduate.

This was their last time they played against and with their seniors. And now the match was over. It was frustrating, the second years were full of regret; they wanted to spend more time with their seniors; they wanted to learn more from them. They wanted to become like them.

The third years smiled lightly at their juniors crying, each of them feeling more or less nostalgic about it. Just a year ago, they had been in the second years shoes - even if they had won the Graduation match, they still felt the same kind of regret and agony. Isoya, Shibayama and Haiba were crying their eyes out, while Kunimi, Tsukishima and Kageyama looked like complete stone faces without any feelings of compassion.

Matsuura, who stood between the latter two members sobbed loudly and when Kageyama glanced at him, the raven saw the white-head crying a river of tears. "I'm not crying, no! There's no way I'm crying!" He tried to assure him and the others, much to his own ward.

"Get hold of yourself, Captain." Kunimi spoke and placed his arm on Matsuura's shoulder. "The second years are ready."

Matsuura and the rest of third years dried their eyes, preparing themselves for the second years' speech. The new captain, Suzuki Hiroshi took a step ahead and bowed deeply at first. He then stood up and spoke in serious tone while staring at his seniors.

"Everyone, I thank you for sticking with us all the way till the end of spring tournament. You can't even imagine what an honor it has been to all of us to have a chance to play with you. We're in your depth and I'm not sure if we can ever repay it," the captain took a short break to catch his breath. "We might not be as strong team as you are, but we will do our best."

"Thank you!" The captain said and bowed deep.

"Thank you!" Everyone followed his example and bowed deep.

Matsuura was tearing up, his lower lip started to tremble. He was about to speak in cracking voice, but was stopped when Isoya smacked his back.

"Come on captain, get a grip. They're all waiting for your words." The blonde told while smiling widely. Matsuura took a deep breath and swallowed his tears away. After that his expression got serious as he coughed loudly.

"I'm so glad to have had each one of you under my care. During the year I have been harsh on you, but you guys never complained and you lasted through all the rough training. Still, why are you looking down on yourselves? You guys _are_  strong; you have lasted the hellish training. Be proud of yourself." Matsuura spoke, putting shivers down the second years' backs.

His eyes started flaming. "Don't know how to repay us? Go and beat the hell out of the other teams and protect our tittle!" Matsuura pushed his first high up in the air, getting heated up by his own words. The rest of the third years smiled.

The second years cheered loudly, pumping up. The whole team of Teikoku boys volleyball gathered up on a circle and yelled loudly.

Hinata and the rest of the girls watched from the cheering stands as the team was gathering together. As time passed by the hall emptied. The boy realized that most of the girls who had just stood on the cheer stands, had now gathered before the main entrance of the gymnasium. They were pushing each other, wanting to make a way in. The managers were there, trying to keep the situation calm.

"What's going on?" The boy wondered, never have witnessed such scene before. Emiko glanced at the entrance, where the managers had put out boxes with each of them having the name of the member written on it.

"Ah, it's the parting ceremony." Hotaru told, staring at the girl who desperately tried to get past the managers so that they could had over the present to their idol personally. "Every year after the boys graduation match the girls give presents to their beloved seniors who are graduating. It has always been a chaotic and famous scene, but this year there are even more girls than usually – mostly due to Isoya's and Kageyama's influence. You can't even imagine how many fangirls those two have." She explained to the orange-head.

Emiko glanced at the girl. "How about you, captain? Are you going to give a present to Isoya-senpai?"

Hotaru froze at that question. She stared at the smirking Emiko as her face slowly started to redden. Emiko let out a light laugh, which brought Hotaru back to the girl. Her embarrassment faded off, and the girl coughed loudly. Filled with anger, she put her weight on the crutches.

"Let's go. We need to meet rest of the team and cheer up for them." Hotaru ran away from the question by changing the topic. She made her way towards the exit. Emiko pursued her lips for Hotaru acting so boring, but followed her captain. Hinata, not wanting to be left alone, followed the girls.

"By the way, where's Michiyo?" He wondered as he hadn't seen the orange-head since the end of the match. It was as if she had disappeared all of a sudden.

"Oh, she's probably giving out her present." Emiko shrugged, not paying much attention to it.

Hinata fell into deep thoughts. If she was going to give a present to someone, it meant that she had crush on someone on the team. Who exactly, he wondered?

The trio headed down towards the main entrance. When they were down, they saw the entrance flooding with girls, pushing each other while going in and out. Hotaru took a deep breath and gathered herself together. After that she started moving her crutches and headed towards the pack. Emiko and Hinata followed her closely as Hotaru pushed her way through the mass.

They heard loads of complains and shouts towards Hotaru for running past them. Hinata was extremely surprised to hear colorful words being thrown at Hotaru. The brown-head didn't mind swears, just pushed her way past the angry fans.

When she heard someone calling her bitch, though, she suddenly stopped at that very place, making Emiko almost crash on her. Hotaru furrowed her eyebrows and glared at the people around her, trying to find the person who had just called her bitch.

Everyone around her was quiet.

Hotaru then humphed loudly and moved her crutches forward. When they had finally made their way past the flock, Emiko sighed of relief. Kou noticed the trio and walked to them.

"Akiyama-chan, nice to see you. Did you come to root for your team?"

Hotaru smirked. "But of course, a captain would always be there to back up her team," she kept a short pause. "But still someone actually dared to call me a bitch!"

"Don't be so hand on them, they're just childish fangirls." Kou flashed a honest, yet inferior smile, which made the girl around them glare at them.

"Captain!" A voice called for the brown-head. When Hotaru turned towards the caller, she saw a blond girl with freckles running towards her.

"Nobuko." Hotaru smiled and walked towards the girl. "How's the team been?"

The girl, whose brown hair was curly to the point Hinata didn't know where it ends were, smiled widely. "We've been hanging on… but you should really heal your leg and come back to the team."

Hinata was surprised at how tall the girl was. Even after being surrounded by tall boys, she didn't lose to their height or looked out of the place. She was most likely the tallest girl in the whole hall. Her skin tone was so light that she looked almost anemic.

"Same for you, Emiko-kun." Another voice spoke, as another girl walked to them. Her hair was raven colored and reached till her upper-back, but now she was wearing it on a high ponytail. The girl turned back and shouted to the boys who were behind them. "Isoya, your firefly is here."

As an immediate answer a tall boy came running towards them. "Hotaru-chan!" he smiled lovingly, like a small child. Hinata's eyes widened at the sight of the man two times as tall as him. He had always felt himself short compared to his classmates, but the people of this school were abnormally tall. And this person looked even taller when seeing up-close.

"My, my. Isn't it Nobu-kun. Congratulation on your win." Hotaru kept on a straight face even if the faint crimson could be seen covering her cheeks. Isoya laughed loudly at her words.

"But of course we would with when the team has the almighty me." He pointed at himself while laughing out in a proudly manner and boasting off about their win. Hotaru smiled lightly at this reaction; she should've guessed so much.

"So where is my present?"

Isoya's question caught Hotaru completely off guard. She turned towards the man and gulped loudly. Was he really expecting a present from her? "Wha- What present do you mean?" She tried to play it off by pretending to be oblivious to his question.

"A graduation present. Don't say that you don't have one prepared for me?" He looked almost disappointed, his big blue eyes tearing up while his lower lip started tremble. Hotaru almost had a heart attack of the sudden expression and did her best to keep herself together. She shouldn't fall for his tricks. She couldn't be too easy. "I do have it…"

Isoya's expression brightened after the words, to the point he was smiling like a sun. He let out a wide smile. "Well good then…" His words were interrupted by Hotaru.

"But I'm not giving it to you unless I get something in return."

The boy stared at the girl who looked death serious about her words. He titled his head a little, staring right into the girls eyes. "Oh… what do you want?"

Hotaru was going through a mental battle for keeping her composure together while talking to the man. Why the heck he had to be such cunning bastard and why she never act like herself when being around him. "Yo- sec- but-" her words were barely heard.

"What?" Isoya asked, leaning closer towards Hotaru. His breathing was already reaching her face, and the mixed scent of his shampoo and sweat was driving her crazy.

Hotaru took a deep breath to calm her nerves and then opened her eyes to stare right into Isoya's blue eyes. "Your second button. I will hand over the present to you, only if you promise to give in return your second button."

Isoya looked rather surprised of her sudden request, but smiled widely. "Okay."

"Girls! Get ready for your match!" A yell from the coach caught Hotaru's attention and she parted ways with Isoya. She made her way to her team and they gathered around her. Hotaru showed a wide smirk and encouraged each one of the team.

"Let's go." The team yelled in union.

The Promotion match of the female volleyball club started.

* * *

"Where is that girl?" Kageyama wandered around the first years building, cursing inside while trying to find a certain orange-head. The matches had finished and it was time for them to head home, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. He didn't even have her phone number so that he could've called Hinata.

_Note to myself: Get that girls phone number._

He wanted to find the girl soon and get out of the school. His whole appearance in school made a huge commotion, so he bet that wandering in the first years floor would made him stand out even more.

"Eh, isn't that Kageyama-san?" A quiet question was heard.

Oh, perfect. Here it came.

"He looks so cool!"

_Whisper._

"But what's he's doing here in the first years floor?"

_Whisper._

_Whisper._

Kageyama sighed. He needed to find the girl and fast. It seemed that finding her wouldn't be so easy, so he had no other choice but to ask someone. He walked to the class 1-B of advanced level which he remember to be Hinata's classroom and entered in.

The whole classroom fell silent at the realization of Kageyama's presence. It was as if they were too afraid to even breath with him in the same room. The raven scanned the room trying to find a person he could question.

Talking to a girl was out of option as they would be too excited and enchanted to even speak with him. So Kageyama searched the most decent looking guy and walked to him. "Excuse me, do you know where I would find Kageyama Natsu?" He asked formally and with slight smirk, trying not to scare the guy too much. He needed to be patient if he wanted to get answers.

After a few blink and silence far too long for Kageyama, the boy finally answered. "I haven't seen ever since Kaion-san kidnapped her to watch the volleyball match." The boy gulped loudly after the answer and sighed of relieve when Kageyama thanked him and walked out of the classroom.

When he was out the raven sighed. This was the worst. He wanted to leave the school as fast as possible, but the girl was happily wandering around the school, completely out of his reach. He really needed to get away before someone you approach him and...

"Excuse me, Kageyama-san. May I have a word with you?" A girl suddenly called out for him. Kageayama turned to the girl, forcing a smile (which ended up as a mixed up smirk and glare).

No, not this too.

_Not now!_

"Then we'll see you at practice tomorrow!" Emiko send off Hinata as the boy said that he was supposed to head towards classroom. It was already late and he needed to get to practice with Saeko and Kiyoko. "Yes."

The boy was humming happily while crossing the school yard between the gymnasium and the advanced students building. He was about to enter the building when he suddenly heard faint voices speaking. Curious, (and pretty much not thinking at all) he went to check what was happening.

He peeked a little and saw a faint figures of a girl and a boy. The boy sighed; this was the all so famous confession scene now wasn't it. The girl's back was facing him so he didn't recognize her from the orange-hair, but the tall boy with raven hair and glare looked somehow familia-...

"Kageyama-san... I- love you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some explanation for the terms used in this chapter! 
> 
> Promotion Match: Promotion in chess is a rule where a pawn that reaches the eight rank is changed into the players choise of queen, knight, rook or bishop. In Teikoku it's the farewell match of third years but also holds the symbolic meaning for having the second and first years (pawns) promoted into their next level inheriting the titles of of queen, king, rook, bishop and castle from the third years.
> 
> Castling: A move in chess where the player moves the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank and then moves the rook to the square over which the king crossed. The libero-toss behind the attack line was called castling by the principal due to having both king and rook (can also be called castle) switch places giving the setter chance to attack.
> 
> En Passant: Is a special pawn capture that can only occur immediately after a pawn moves two ranks forward from its starting postion, avoiding being capture by the enemy pawn having moved only one square ahead. The opponent captures the just-moved pawn "as it passes" the first square. The result is the same as when the pawn had been moved only one squeare and being captured by the enemy pawn.
> 
> Ranks: The nicknames or "ranks" are fixed on the positions. Setter who is the control tower of the game is called King, where as the most powerful wing spiker and the ace of the team receives the tittle of Queen - he's also the one who scores the most points. Rest of the wing spikers are named bishops where as the defensive middle blockers are called Rooks. The tittle of Castle (which is alternative way to call Rooks) is given to the regular libero of the team.


	12. Situation 1-1

"Kageyama-san… I- love you!" The confession was spoken with the might of a woman who had just thrown her life away for those four words. It was left hanging in the air with an almost invisible string, as the two remained silent. The girl was facing down unable to look Kageyama into eyes, while the boy's expression had stoned up into enraged glare.

"I-" The raven spoke, and Hinata breathed out loudly. He hadn't even noticed that he had been holding his breath the whole time. The look on Kageyama's face got even more furious than when he had spoken to Hinata, and the ginger gulped in fear, even if it wasn't him facing the raven. Whoa, that man surely was scary.

"Who do you think you are for even daring to confess your love to me after everything you've done? Who was it that deceived me in the first place? Who was the reason I suddenly became 'everyone's'?" Kageyama spoke with the most scariest tone Hinata had ever heard. He was clearly at his limits to keep his nerves down, the aura was so mighty and furious. The girl kept her eyes tightly closed, while praying that Kageyama would soon stop. She was clearly at her limit.

Michiyo raised her head just a little bit to see Kageyama. "But that was years ago. I was just a child and still inexperienced. I spoke those words so that they wouldn't leave me out of the group. I was protecting myself! I couldn't do anything about it…" Tears started to appear into the corners of her eyes. Michiyo begged for Kageyama's forgiveness, trying convince him to be reasonable and listen to her, but the boy had already frozen up his heart. He wasn't going to trust someone who had betrayed him in the past.

The boy's eyes flamed with rage. "Speak no more! I don't want to listen to your useless nagging! You should very well know that I have lost my trust on women! I don't plan on dating one, ever. I think of only volleyball and I want it to stay that way!" He told, stating the only opinion available.

"Bu- but…" Michiyo, who all of a sudden had lost all the confidence Hinata had seen in her, tried to somehow convince Kageyama to listen to her.

"LEAVE! GO AWAY… and never appear before my eyes! Ever again!" Kageyama shouted. Michiyo whimpered, scared at his voice and ran away from the raven while tears were rolling down her cheeks. Hinata could only see a faint image of her as she tried to wipe the tears away only to have more appear and soak her arm, before she disappeared behind a corner.

Hinata watched the girl squall loudly, and his face darkened. He pulled himself together and came out of his hiding place, heading towards Kageyama. When the raven noticed him, he let out an enraged sigh. "Where on earth have you been? I've been searching you around the whole school! You better have a good expla-"

But that's where his words were cut off.

_SLAP._

Hinata would've loved to use his fist to smash the raven's head (he truly was that angry), but all the training with Saeko flashed in his mind and he realized that this was the very moment a proper woman would use all of her power to slap a man. Kageyama was taken aback. With widened eyes he covered his now red and little swollen cheek that Hinata had just slapped. He stared at the ginger, who had tears running down his reddened cheeks.

Hinata tried to speak, but it ended up as a huge mess. The tears just kept going on, covering his whole face with the salted water and Hinata could barely see or even saying anything. He took few deep breaths to stop the weeping and dried his eyes. After that he fixed his position and glared at Kageyama.

"How can you do that?" He asked, face darkening as his eyes were covered by the shadow of his hair.

"What?" Kageyama asked, not understanding Hinata's point.

"Are you even a HUMAN? How can you talk that way to a girl who had just confessed their feelings to you!?" The ginger yelled his lungs empty. Kageyama tried to speak, but Hinata interrupted him. "If you didn't like her back, you could've rejected her with kinder words. No need to trample over her and then throw her like a piece of trash. I thought you've been kinder, but you're just a self-centered and heartless bastard who thinks of no one but himse-!"

This time it was Hinata's time to be cut in the middle. Kageyama took hold of his uniforms collar and pulled Hinata towards him; so close that the ginger could feel Kageyama's breath against his face. He stared straight at the dark blue eyes, not even daring to blink due to fear. "It's you who shouldn't put her nose into other people business, miss-friend-of-justice. Don't you dare to go put the blame on others, when you don't even know the situation."

After what it felt like deathly minutes, Hinata finally dared to blink his eyes. When they had both calmed down, Kageyama let go of Hinata in the hope that he wouldn't get hit for a second time. That girl surely had a strong arm for someone so small. Her slap was still making his cheek ach.

"But really, where on earth did you disappear to!? I searched for you all around the school. I even had to throw away my pride and enter the first year building and ask for help." Hinata was surprised that the Kageyama, who just minutes before had declared his hatred towards women, had went through all the trouble to find him; a supposed girl _and_ his _supposed_ wife. The ginger wondered was the reason for such difference between words and action.

"I- I was with the girls volleyball club," Hinata stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kageyama did shot a furious glance at his wife, but decided to leave it at that. It was meaningless try to argue with a woman; they wouldn't come up with a satisfying solution anyway, so why even bother. The whole reason he got stuck to watch after this wearisome woman was because of the promise his father. He needed to hold till graduation and then he could forget all about her… but for now he must ensure her safety and wellbeing.

"Then, to save us from the future trouble it's better for you to give me your address." The raven stated while taking out his phone. He was the troubled look in Hinata's face and raised an eyebrow. "What it is?"

Hinata's looked down while anxiously rubbing his arms together. His eyes moved restlessly from side to side, as if he couldn't decide where to look. "I-," he started but the words were stuck in his throat. Is was so embarrassing to tell that he, at such age and status, didn't own a phone.

Hinata wanted to continue, but as Kageyama's expression changed from confused into stern and impatient, he started to panic and looked terrified. "Well- the truth is that. I. Don't. Own. A. Phone." He kept a long pause between each word, emphasizing them more than actually needed. Hinata gulped loudly.

"WHAT! What kind of idiotic person doesn't own a phone? You must be out of your mind!" Came the comment Hinata had been afraid of. He had expect Kageyama to laugh at him (anyone normal person would've, but it's Kageyama we're talking about here…) but his words made Hinata angry. He felt as if the raven was insulting him.

"Well, excuse me for not being a super-rich self-centered bastard who can obtain everything he wants! You know some people actually have to work in order to earn money! NOT EVERYONE IS BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN HIS MOUTH!" Maybe he had gone too far. The reason he still didn't have a phone wasn't because didn't have the money to buy it; it was because he choose not to buy it until university. Still, having heard Kageyama's words made him angry. **(1)**

Kageyama rolled his eyes while hissing angrily. He took hold of Hinata's arm and dragged the ginger along. Hinata looked surprised. "Wait! Where are you taking me to?"

The raven glanced at him with murderous glare, which made Hinata stop any attempts of escape.

"To buy you a phone of course, stupid woman!"

* * *

Hinata stood before all the different models of phones with his mouth widely open. He was in amazement of how there well all kind of phones with various looks, colors and applications. Of course with the newer and better model the price also got up. He was completely lost in the world of phones.

The ginger had never though that buying a phone would be so hard. He scanned through all the different models, not really understanding the difference between their functions. In the end he stopped before a simple looking black smartphone, that was both comfortable in his palm and cheap in price. Something like that would definitely be the best for him. He didn't need the lastest models and best functions, he just wanted something he liked.

"We're taking this," He heard Kageyama talking next to him and saw the boy reaching out for a phone in the middle of top row. It was very similar to the one Hinata was holding, but was rounder and slimmer and colored white. It had a screen of 5'5 and looked very streamlined. The ginger checked the price.

His mouth dropped.

And he almost dropped the phone he was holding.

The price exceed the price of Hinata's phone of choice by more than ten times. The heck with it, when Hinata looked more closely, it was the most expensive phone in the whole shop. Had Kageyama gone mad? What on earth was he even thinking, bying him the most expensive phone? He didn't need it; it really didn't need to be that phone! He wouldn't dare to use it.

"No!" Hinata yelled.

"What?"

"NO!" He repeated. After that he puffed, astonished. "I don't need it, I can manage well with this one!" He tried to convince Kageyama, not much to his avail.

The raven glanced at the phone Hinata was holding with judgmental expression. "As the member of Kageyama family you shall use no more than the latest model. Any other suggestions will be rejected." Kageyama told while holding onto the KaraPhone 6.5. He was going to stick with his decision. This was the very model he was using and had taken liking to it. **(2)**

Hinata stared at the phone in his arms and then at Kageyama. The raven's determined expression told, that he would remain in his opinion, no matter what Hinata tried to say. The orange-bush sighed and put away the phone of his choice. It was useless to start argue over a phone, let Kageyama do that he wanted… after all he was the one paying for it anyway.

Kageyama was about to head toward the cashier, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking. "Whoa! Are my eyes lying to me, or is it really Kageyama Tobio standing before me?" The raven turned around, only to be welcomed by a cheery smile of Isoya Nobuyuki.

"Isoya." He didn't even try to sound surprised.

"Come on Tobiocchi! Haven't I told you to call me by my first name?" The blonde looked hurt, and he pursued his lips while trying to act as if he was sulking. Kageyama just rolled his eyes without giving an answer.

"It was good I decided to accompany Levchan and Akitan. I got to meet Tobiocchi outside school! Lucky!" Isoya was celebrating. His expression turned astounded the moment he saw a small figure moving behind Kageyama. "I see that you're not alone…"

Kageyama's face got stiff. _'Shit, this guy just has the worst timing ever. He's so going to demand for an explanation. Argh! It's all her fault in the first place, not owning a phone like every reasonable citizen should.'_ Kageyama cursed, while trying to think of a way out.

"Yeah…" He started with a sigh, so unlike himself. Isoya's eyes got pensive. "I ran into her after school. She's new in the city and doesn't know the directions yet, so I helped her to find this shop." Kageyama tried to explain, but the blonde was aware of the lie. The raven had the habit to risen the corners of his mouth whenever he was lying.

Kageyama shot angry glare at Hinata, as if ordering him to confirm the story. Hinata gulped. "Yes, I just moved here from countryside, and was in need to buy a phone so that I can contact my parents. Kageyama-san really helped me here." He laughed nervously, while massaging the back of his head.

"So you're the bento-girl from this morning," Isoya stated, while staring at Hinata.

"Eh?"

What was the blonde talking about?

Isoya scanned Hinata from head to toes and then glanced at Kageyama. Their story just didn't make any sense. First of all, Kageyama isn't the like of person to help strangers. Secondly the phone Kageyama was holding in his hands was the latest model of KaraPhones so there's no way a country bumpkin would have enough money to buy it. Thirdly there was the matter with Kageyama's parent's words.

"I'm surprised that you're not wearing wedding ring, Tobiocchi." Isoya then smiled widely, pointing at Kageyama's ring finger.

"What?"

"I was getting bored for being alone the whole time, since we had no school anymore. I tried to contact you, but you didn't answer to any of my messages or calls. So I decided to visit your place, only to find out from your parents that you had gotten married and moved away to life with your wife." The blonde told. He then shot a curious look at Kageyama, waiting for the raven to answer.

"I… well…" The raven was lost in words.

"HOW COME I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THE WEDDING? I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND! YOUR BESTMAN! I DIDN'T EVEN GET AN INVITATION! WHAT AM I TO YOU?" Isoya charged at Kageyama, taking hold of his shoulders. He yelled so loud everyone in the shop turned to them wondering what was happening.

Kageyama looked around, waiting for the people to get back to whatever they were doing before the incident. When most of the puzzled and even some curious pairs of ears and eyes had turned away, the raven took hold of Isoya's arm, taking if off his shoulder.

"I have to admit, you got me. This person is no other but my wife. The wedding was put together fast; even I was uninformed of the person I was going to get married to, so we decided to keep only within family and my parent's friends." He told.

Isoya stared at the couple, and then started to laugh. "Haha! If it's that way, then I have no choice but to forgive you!" He then hugged Kageyama with all power, making the raven to choke for lack of air. "But to think! The woman hater Kageyama is actually the first of us to get married! Wait till the others will hear about it!"

"I would really appreciate if you kept it a secret from others."

"Oh, a secret between you and me! I like the sound of it; I like secrets!" Isoya laughed like maniac, and Kageyama was cursing him for that. It was obvious that they were getting a lot of attention. He just wanted to buy the damned phone and get on the court to cool his nerves. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

' _It's all her fault!'_ he cursed, while scowling at Hinata. The latter gulped loudly, feeling chills over his whole body.

"But you surely look familiar!" Hinata jumped aback in startle of Isoya's sudden approach. His heart was pounding hard against his chest, as he tried to stabilize his breathing. The blonde was staring at him, scanning the boy from head to toes.

"Yep. You look just like that bench warmer from Karasuno." The boy then said, sounding like he had just solved a difficult puzzle. Hinata's eyes widened in shock. This person couldn't be serious with his words. Had he really been able to unravel his appearance under the uniform, make up and hairdo? He should look perfect; there wasn't supposed to be any mistakes. No one else was able to tell him apart, anyone else hadn't even thought of him as a boy, but this boy was clearly telling him who he looked like… Who was this Isoya guy?

Kageyama was surprised as well, but for a completely different reason than Hinata. He was aware of Isoya's great memory, especially with human faces, but this talent of his had been upgrated into a completely new level. Kageyama had the trouble to remember any of the Karasuno players; expect for Nishinoya and Kenma. Isoya was telling him, that he actually remembered a face of a person who hadn't even had the chance to play in the game. He was insane, that's for sure.

"We-well…" Hinata started while his laugh vibrated in creepy manner. "It's true that I'm originally from Karasuno, but you got the wrong person here. There's no way a girl would be a bench player in boys team, right? The person you meant must be my older brother." He tried to stay calm while explaining. He really needed to keep his action together so that he wouldn't get discovered.

Isoya put his arm on his jaw in thoughtful manner, and bit his lower lip. After some deep thinking, the man then laughed. "Well, you are right, I most likely got the wrong person. You surely resemble your brother a lot." He said to Hinata while patting his head. _'Not a lot, your appearances are identical.'_

' _She has a brother? How come he wasn't in the wedding?'_ Kageyama thought, but didn't put his mind trying to solve it. The easiest way was to ask, and that's what he was going to do.

"I guess should join with Levchan and Akitan, they'll get worried otherwise." Isoya said with a wide smile and headed towards the exit. "I shall come to visit you sometime, Tobiocchi." He told while waving his arm. Kageyama rolled his eyes and headed towards the cashier.

' _Hope you don't'_

* * *

Hinata opened the front door and was welcomed by a smell of delicious food, and Miharu waiting for him near the entrance. She bowed deeply as he took of his shoes and smiled at her mistress. "Natsu-sama, welcome home. The dinner has been prepared. You can already sit down to enjoy it; I shall go and call Tobio-sama to join you." She told while taking Hinata to the dining hall. After that she headed upstairs, where Kageyama was working in his office.

Hinata stared at the food with craving look, as always Saeko's training had been hash and he hadn't particularly eaten anything since noon. His stomach growled when a tempting smell entered his lungs, his body and mind agreeing on the fact that he should eat. He was about to take a bite of the dinner, but after hearing steps coming from the second floor and stairs, he put the fork down and waited.

The ginger soon spotted Kageyama appearing behind her corner and the raven walked to his seat. They glanced at each other with quick looks and took hold of their utensils. The dinner was eaten in very quiet manner with no chit chatting; only the sound of their teeths crunching food was heard. The sound of them breathing in and out was mixed to this every now and then.

Hinata was almost finished when he heard Kageyama suddenly speaking. "I didn't know that you had a brother." He claimed, taking a bite of his ham. The man continued eating his dinner while not even taking his glance off it.

The ginger raised his head, and put down the utensils. He looked away from his dinner and Kageyama, as if in search of Miharu. "Well, yes… He's currently studying in America so he couldn't attend to the wedding." Hinata had realized what Kageyama was after. He didn't really now, but he was surely that Kageyama had implied about his brother for that reason – the brother who hadn't appeared in the wedding of his younger sister…

If only he knew that it was actually the other way around…

"Do you have work tomorrow?" Hinata then asked, changing the topic. Kageyama nodded lightly, still refusing to look at the ginger, and Hinata continued. "I shall prepare bento for you, be sure to take it with you." With those words Hinata excused himself and stood up. He walked to Miharu and thanked her for the dinner. Miharu bowed at him, and then offered him a bowl with rice and left overs from the other day.

Hinata looked surprised, but after Miharu's sweet smile, he thanked her and took the bowl to his room. As soon as he was in his own room, safe behind locked doors, Hinata sighed loudly and took of his girly clothes; double-colored top, pleated skirt and stockings and changed into collars and loose T-shirt. He entered the toilet and took off the makeup; this time with a remover and not just plain water.

Once he was done, he walked to the second door in his room and opened in. From that door he entered into what could be called his study room. It was narrow but long room that held in it a computer table set in the right corner from the door, a bookshelf and closet. At the very end of the room was yet another door which opened into very small room, most likely a walk-in wardrobe.

In this small room, Hinata had built up his very own Butsudan. It was a small wooden cabinet which held in it a Butsuzo statue made out of cypress wood. It also contained various religious items Hinata had managed to gather there; candlesticks and platforms for offering. **(3)**

Hinata sat down and poured tea from the bottle he held in the room and put it on the platform along with the rice bowl he had received from Miharu. After that he lighted up the candles. Finally he shifted his eyes to the picture which was placed within the Butsudan. In the picture brightly smiled the younger sister he had lost few weeks earlier.

"You know Natsu, today I…" The boy started, telling the picture of his sister how the day had passed by. He started from the morning when Kageyama had suddenly offered to take him to school and then told about the girls in his class. The boy was very detailed in his story, taking his time to be within his sister's presence. He told about the Promotion match, and how he had gone to buy phone with Kageyama.

Few times he did show a small laugh, but most of the time he had hard time to stop his tears. Hinata sniffed hard as he had come to the last part of his story; Saeko's training. "You know, Saeko-san… She scolded me from joining the volleyball team. She told that I wouldn't be able to keep up my cover for long if I was to play with them… she told that it was impossible for me…"

"Natsu, you do know that I love two things in this world – you and volleyball. I already lost you and can't return you to my side, so I wanted to keep volleyball close to me… but it's impossible! I'm forbid to play it! THEY TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!" The boy whined, tears flowing down his reddened cheeks.

Hinata sobbed loudly. "I LOST YOU! I LOST VOLLEYBALL! I HAVE NOTHING!" He yelled his heart out, trying to ease the pain in his chest. But it didn't help him, admitting the loss made him only more aware of the pain. He truly had nothing that kept him in the world anymore.

He had lost everything dear to him.

"Natsu… I just want you back…"

_'I want to see you!'_

* * *

The door to the apartment was opened slowly and closed rapidly as a dark figure slipped in. The darkness in the silent space was driven away as the person switched on the light. They took their shoes off and put them neatly near the entrance, the front facing towards the door.

Walking to the living room, they threw their backpack to couch while sighing loudly. The person made their way to the kitchen and took a tea bottle from the fridge.

They were about pour the ice tea into a glass, but a sudden touch to their shoulder made the person to drop the dishes, and they broke into tens and hundreds little pieces scattering around the kitchen floor.

They were supposed to be alone home, but for their ignorance there was someone. Goosebumps ran through the person's body as a quiet whisper entered their ear.

"Welcome home, sweetie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few notes worth of explanation
> 
> 1\. Being born with a silver spoon in ones mouth, means that the person is born rich or in a wealthy family.
> 
> 2\. As one would guess, the name of KaraPhone is taken from the iPhone. It's very similar to the model, but due to copyright issues I decided to change the name more fitting to the story.
> 
> 3\. A butsudan is a shrine commonly found in temples and homes in Japanese Buddish culture. A butsudan is a wooden cabinet with doors that enclose and protect a gohonzon or religious icon, typically a statue or painting of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, or a "script" mandala scroll. The doors are opened to display the icon during religious observances, and closed before sunset. A butsudan usually contains an array of subsidiary religious items, called butsugu, such as candlesticks, incense burners, bells, and platforms for placing offerings such as fruit, tea or rice. Some Buddhist sects place ihai, memorial tablets for deceased relatives, within or near the butsudan. (WIKIPEDIA)


	13. Of School Days And Visitors

Saeko was sitting down in her studio while sipping a high brand fresh tea Kiyoko had prepared for her. The woman crossed her legs and put the tea cup down on the table while letting out a depressed sigh. She leaned her jaw on the palm of her hand looking outside at scene of people running right and left while trying find a shelter from the sudden downpour.

Kiyoko came from the walk-in kitchen with some homemade cookies in a basket and put it on the table. She first glanced at the melancholic Saeko then at the gray scenario outside after her eyes finally returned back to inside and locked on her friend. "Still worried about Shoyo-kun?" She wasn't sure when exactly it had happened, but during the training Kiyoko had started to call the boy by his first name.

Saeko glanced at Kiyoko and with a quick change of position she took hold of the tea cup. She looked down at it, staring right into the greenness. "You could say it." She kept a short pause to taste the tea. It was great. Kiyoko surely knew how to prepare green tea to Saeko's liking. "The boy obviously didn't take the news well. He seemed to be so excited about joining the team and being able to play volleyball." The woman sighed.

Kiyoko sat on the empty seat next to Saeko and poured some tea into a cup. She then took a bite from a cookie and looked outside. "From what I know, Shoyo-kun really loves volleyball. I feel like an evil antagonist for taking it away from him." She agreed with Saeko. Both knew it was for the best to keep Hinata's gender a secret, but at the same time they wished they could do something about it. The time was hard on the boy, so they hoped there could even one thing the boy could enjoy.

"I wish we could do something for him…" Saeko sighed loudly while finishing her tea. Kiyoko nodded lightly, and kept staring at the liquid in the cup. For a short moment the studio was filled with silence. Both of the women were thinking, what they could do to cheer up their pupil. He had become so dear to him, they wished to do something to keep him smiling. He was already going through so much.

Saeko's sigh broke the silence, only to return the atmosphere back to previous one.

Kiyoko finished her tea and took another cookie from the basket. Saeko finally took notice of the sweets and started to stuff them in one after another. By the time Kiyoko managed to finish her second cookie, Saeko had already gobbled the rest of them. The women stared at the now empty cookie basket.

A long and silent minute passed.

"I GOT IT!" All of a sudden, Saeko jumped from her seat and glanced at Kiyoko, her eyes sparkling. The woman looked like she had gotten the idea of her life, and that it was something that would change the world. "I know how we can help the brat!" She pulled Kiyoko closer and started explaining her magnificent plan.

* * *

"Yosh!" Hinata smiled proudly at the two bento-boxes before him and took off his apron. He was ready to head to school. Apparently Kageyama hadn't woken up yet, so the ginger placed the bento-box wrapped in dark bluish clothing on the kitchen table to wait for the raven. Along with it, he left a paper with a small message.

The ginger opened the door and headed out. He met Miharu at the front gate; the woman was sprinkling some salt over the gate. It was a ritual Kageyama had ordered her to do, or so the woman had told. Hinata greeted the houseworker and stepped into the car after she had wished him a good day.

In reality the ginger had planned going to school by foot, but Miharu had insisted that he'd take a car. She said that they could never know when people would hear that the heir of Kageyama had gotten married. People could be after his life so they couldn't allow the heirs' wife to wander off to school on her own. And so, Kageyama had hired another driver for Hinata.

When they arrived at the school's gate, Hinata got out of the car and headed towards the classroom. He met Emiko at the shoe lockers and the brunette's expression widened at the sight of him. "Natcchan!" And Hinata wondered when they had gone to the basis of calling each other by nicknames. The boys expression slowly turned into smile.

"Good morning." He greeted the girl and after they had changed their shoes to in-door ones, the duo headed towards their classroom. Michiyo and Kazuko had arrived earlier already, and were on their seats. They chatted happily – with Michiyo doing most of the talk, Kazuko just nodded from times to times – and called for Emiko and Hinata when the latter two entered the classroom.

The four of them shared a short chat, and Hinata took into notice that Michiyo seemed to be little out of it. She apparently spoke more than usually and her figure and aura seemed less confident. The ginger shook his head. What was he thinking about, he had just met the girl for the first time the day earlier. There's no way he could know what she was usually like, and how different she was acting now.

But only thing was sure; her eyes were red. It was clear that she had been crying.

"Class get into your seats!" They were suddenly interrupted, when the teacher walked into the classroom. Everyone in the class rushed to their seats and the class representative told everyone to sand up and bow. After that everyone sat down and the teacher started calling the students names to take the attendance.

"Aomine Amaya…" The teacher spoke in a manner that he wasn't even expecting for a reply. Surely one would, when the mentioned student hadn't come to school for over a week or so. He was already going to put absence mark next to her name, when a quiet voice finally spoke. "He-re…"

Everyone turned their heads towards the girl sitting in the last seat of the window row. Hinata was one of them too. The girl hadn't been in the school the other day, so he hadn't met her yet. He wanted to take a look at his classmate to know what kind person they were.

The girl was of a small and weak built. She was obviously smaller than Hinata, and her thin legs and arms where hidden under a few sizes too big blazer and track trousers. Her hair was unusual blue color – Hinata was sure it had to be dyed. It was reaching till her lower back and very messy, as if she hadn't bothered to comb it. Beneath her pointing bangs, she was wearing big and round glasses that obviously had gotten out of fashion over a decade ago.

Hinata could hear few of the male students snicker, but as the teacher gathered himself together and coughed, the class fell silent. "It's good to see you at school. I would like you to come with me to the teacher's office after class." The man told.

"Yes, sensei." The girl answered with weak voice, as if she was barely able to speak. She stared down at her desk and pulled her sleeves down, squeezing her palms into fist. Hinata found this behavior strange. Well, the whole girl seemed to be a strange one, so maybe he shouldn't mind it so much. The ginger sighed and turned his attention back to the teacher when he heard the name Kageyama Natsu being called.

After the class, Hinata was called to join Emiko and the other girls. He didn't refuse the offer; it somehow felt good that he had been accepted by the whole class and that he had friends within it. He noticed that Amaya left her seat as soon as the bell rang. As the girl walked towards the door, some of the students yelled at her, teasing and naming her, after what they laughed. The bluenette didn't seem to hear it all, and just walked past the students.

Hinata was getting curious.

"Excuse me," he suddenly spoke, and the girl trio he was accompanying turned their heads towards him. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I ask who this Aomine girl is? Why is everyone bad mouthing her?" His question came out of the woods for the girls. The trio glanced at each other, blinking their eyes few times and then turned back to Hinata.

"Why you ask?" Michiyo asked, confused of why Hinata asked the question. "First of all, she breaks the status quo, I can't even believe that she was even accept to this school with that bluish hair of her. She doesn't care about her appearance, she's a disgrace! Secondly, she rarely comes to school and when she does the little pest yells at others not to approach or touch her. What an awful child!" The girl stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Just those words were enough to confirm the weird feeling Hinata had had inside him. It was very obvious that the girl was an outcast. She was the same that he had been. The expression on Hinata's face fell. That was a heavy position to be in…

"Let's stop about that girl! I'm more interested in your relationship with Kageyama Tobio. Are you sure that you're not connected in anyway?" Emiko hurried to change the topic. Hinata jolted at her words and gulped down when he felt curious glances being directed at him. Not only the three girls, but almost the whole class was impatiently waiting for his answer.

"Of course not! The fact that we share a surname is pure coincidence. What does make you think we're connected anyway?" He laughed, and most of the girls that had their eyes set on Kageyama sighed of relief. The boy forced a smile on his face. Why the heck that smug bastard was so popular among the girls? What made him look so great in their eyes?

Emiko crossed her arms, still not satisfied. "First of all, Kageyama Tobio came searching for you at the end of school day. Secondly, some people saw you heading home together…" She kept a short pause and continued. "Can you after this still say that you're not connected in any way?"

Damn this girl was sharp! Where on earth did she get all those brains to even bother get things together? More over, where had she gotten all that information? Hinata was pretty sure that during that time, she had been with the girls' volleyball club. The ginger gulped loudly. He needed to think of something and fast. Otherwise he would make things worse for himself and the raven, who would surely end him if he was to hear the news.

"Well you see…" Hinata started. The mood in the classroom got cold. Everyone was waiting for him to continue. "I accidentally dropped my student ID card and he had picked it up. That's why he was searching for me. Also, I'm still new in the town, so I used the chance and asked if he could show me the way to the phone store as I needed to buy a new phone." The boy said, being surprised on how he had managed to come up with such lie. Half of the story he had taken from the one Kageyama had made up when speking with Isoya.

The mood was once again lightened, and most of the students returned back to their own topics. The girls didn't feel threatened; Hinata was just another girl (as they believed him to be) who didn't even seem to have any particular feelings towards Kageyama.

"I see…" Emiko closed her eyes and nodded off, showing that she had approved her explanation. Hinata sighed of relief. He was so glad that all the suspect had been taken off him. The last thing he needed was to have people stalk him after school, to ensure that he did not have any connection with the raven.

He had managed to fool them, and that was for the best. The ginger was glad. Yet, he somehow had the feeling that there could be one person who didn't believe him. After what she had been through the other day, he wasn't sure if she was to believe anything related to Kageyama. Hinata glanced at the orange haired girl.

That someone was Michiyo.

* * *

Kageyama sat down and took out the bento-box to enjoy the lunch. Finally, a break from work and he could have something to fill his empty stomach. He was about to take a bite when he heard a far too familiar voice speak. "Oh, it's rare to see you with obento. And this one isn't prepared by Miharu." Kageyama's father entered the dining area and sat on the seat opposite to his son, much to Kageyama's displease.

It was rare for Kageyama to eat in the dining hall, but it was even rarer to see his father - the boss of the company - pay a visit. Everyone around bowed down to greet the head of Kageyama family, and he smiled at them kindly. Kageyama found being the attraction of everyone's attention very annoying. His father was doing something unnecessary.

"It's my supposed wife who made it." The raven finally mumbled and took the first bite. His father's mouth dropped a little at his sons' honesty and then he grinned widely. "I see. Do you get along with Natsu?" He asked, his face full of grin. He was so happy that his son had married a woman. With the way Kageyama acted towards them, he had been afraid the boy would never find a wife.

Kageyama stopped his meal for a moment to answer his father. "To tell the truth, I have never met a girl who makes me so annoyed. She's the worst of the worsts." He kept a short pause, "I hope that you do remember our promise. I don't care what you're going to do with her but I wish not to see her in my house after I enroll to university." With those words Kageyama finished the left overs of his lunch and stood up.

The head of Kageyama family watched as his son left the cafeteria and smirked. "I'm not sure, what you have in mind… but mark my words, my dear son… As long as I live, the woman now named Kageyama Natsu will remain by your side." The man chuckled and then started to laugh like a maniac.

His smug laugh echoed in the cafeteria

(attracting even more attention than before).

* * *

It was already evening and Hinata was lying on the couch watching TV, waiting for Miharu to prepare the dinner. He had offered to help her, but the houseworker had insisted him to stay out of it and let her do the work; it was her job after all.

And so Hinata found himself in the living room, staring at the TV with blank expression. It wasn't like he really wanted to watch it; he had nothing better to do. He was tired of being shut in his room all day, and there was no way Miharu would let him go out at such hour, so close to dinner (and he didn't have anywhere particular to go, expect for Saeko's… but he didn't want to see the woman at the moment).

Hinata switched the channel and sighed when another cliche drama started playing. He closed his eyes and turned off the TV, throwing away the remote control. The teen stood up and was planning to head to his room when the doorbell rang all of a sudden. Out of a habit, he yelled "I'll open," and rushed towards the front door.

He opened the door and peeked out. When the person behind the door saw it being opened they smiled happily, but as soon as they saw Hinata their expression froze. They looked around, moving their head troubled and then asked. "Is this the Kageyama residence?" It was as if they weren't sure if they had gotten the right house.

"Yes," Hinata answered, nodding his head. He noticed that the person looked aback and opened the door a little. Only now he realized that the man wasn't alone. He in fact did have a company. The trio stood silent, as if waiting for someone to break the ice. The ginger blinked his eyes few times and was about to speak when

"Natsu-sama! How many times I have told you not to open the door. It's my job; you cannot be what kind people are there! What if they're here to kill or kidnap you?" The woman scolded Hinata in worrisome manner which reminded Hinata of his mother. He smiled kindly and let the woman confirm that he was alright. Otherwise she wouldn't leave him alone.

When Miharu nodded with reassured look, she turned her attention towards the two men standing at their front door. "Yamaguchi-sama, Tsukishima-sama!" she let out a surprised cry and bowed. "Please do come in, I can't believe I let you two wait. Come in and wait in the living room, I call for Tobio-sama." Miharu let the duo in, took their overcoats and led them to the living room. As soon as the men were seated, she excused herself with a bow and headed upstairs to call her master.

Hinata sat down on the armchair opposite the duo and observed their characters carefully. The one called Tsukishima was a blonde guy with glasses; he could recognize the boy from the promotion match. So the guy with black, short and spiky-ish hair must be Yamaguchi. He was staring at the house with mouth open, moving his head from side to side. It was obvious that the boy was in amaze.

Hinata snapped out of it, when he suddenly felt strong stare piercing right through him. He turned to Tsukishima and realized that the blonde had narrowed his eyebrows and was staring at him with a deathly glare. The ginger backed off and gulped loudly. He felt as sweat started to form to his forehead. He laughed desperately, praying for Kageyama to come soon and save him from the situation.

Soon, steps where heard from the staircase. The noise made Tsukishima to fix his glasses and the blonde turned his attention away from Hinata. The ginger sighed of relief for being able to keep his life; he had been so sure that Tsukishima would end him anytime soon if anything hadn't been done.

"Ah, Kageyama." Yamaguchi stood up to greet the raven, when he entered the living room. Miharu was closely behind her master, but soon returned to kitchen to complete the dinner. Kageyama glanced at Tsukishima and the duo shared a silent stare, after what both of them nodded. The raven walked to the armchair next to Hinata and sat down.

"I would like to ask how you found this place, but I feel like mother is involved in it, so I won't even bother." The raven started, remembering the conversation with Isoya. "What I do want to know is why you're here?" He continued.

Yamaguchi was the one to speak. "The truth is that we got into little trouble and would like to ask for your permission to stay at your place for a while." Kageyama's eyes widened and his mouth opened. With astonished look he could simply ask, "Why?"

"Well you see…" The brunette spoke, but shot uneasy glances at Hinata.

Kageyama got his hints and turned his eyes towards the ginger. "She's living her… for now… You don't have to mind her presence, she would find it out anyway, eventually." The ravens' 'for now' didn't pass unnoticed and Hinata shot at him a cold and hurtful glare. Kageyama tossed it off with a shrug and turned his attention back to Yamaguchi.

The brunette sighed, feeling little relieved. "The truth is…" He started once again, but was unable to continue. This time the fault wasn't Hinata's, he just couldn't settle down with his feelings and put them into words. Tsukishima sighed and finally his mouth moved for the first time after he had entered the house.

"We eloped."


	14. Out Of The Woods: Take Two

Tsukishima woke up few seconds before the alarm went off. With a swift movement he turned the thing off and yawned loudly while sitting up. He stretched his arms and neck to get blood rushing through his veins and picked up his glasses. At the moment he stood up a house worker came running into the room and started making the bed.

The young adult headed to shower room to freshen up. He sleepily greeted the house workers who were running down the hall way, preparing shower and set of clean clothes for their young masters. Just as Tsukishima was about to enter the shower room, he heard a familiar voice speaking.

"Good morning!" His older brother greeted Tsukishima while closing the door to his room. Tsukishima mumbled an answer between his breaths and yawned. Akiteru smiled at his brothers reaction and let out a light laugh. "I'll be waiting you at breakfast." He then told while smacking his arm on Tsukishima's shoulder. After that he walked to the start of staircase and waved happily while hopping down the stairs.

The young blonde stared his brother going and finally let out a loud yawn. He rubbed his eyes and fixed the glasses, only to have them being taken off as soon as he entered the shower. Tsukishima cleaned himself up, trying to remember what kind of dream he had seen. He wasn't so fixed on the details, but it surely had been one of a creepy dream.

The blonde turned off the shower and got the towel to dry himself up. When dry, he put on his glasses and glanced at his figure from the mirror. There was one detail he could clearly remember from the dream. He had saved Yamaguchi from fire and carried the unconscious boy on his back. Tsukishima sighed, shaking away the bad dream and went to put on the clothes the house workers had prepared for him.

He walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen to join his family to breakfast. His parents were already sitting on the other side of the table and Akiteru smiled when seeing his brother walking in; everyone was waiting for him. Tsukishima walked to the empty seat next to his older brother and sat down when one of the employees pulled it out for him.

As everyone was finally present the breakfast could start. A silence filled the dining hall entire time, as none used time for chitchatting. That wasn't the way things were done in Tsukishima family. They always ate breakfast in silence, and talking was done only after that. The moment Tsukishima, as the last person to finish his breakfast, put his utensils on the table, the silence finally broke.

"Good morning." The head of Tsukishima family spoke, greeting his two sons. His wife spoke after this and smiled at her two babies. Only after this were Akiteru and Tsukishima allowed to answer to their parents. This was the policy of Tsukishima family. This was the way their family worked, and Tsukishima did not know of other way. Their father was the man in the house, and his words were absolute.

"There's something your mother and I want to talk about today." The man said and looked at his two sons. His wife glanced at him with worried look, which made Akiteru and Tsukishima shot each other worried looks. The younger one was wondering what was going on, two which Akiteru shrugged; he had absolutely no idea.

"Together with your mother and the parents of Mabuchi family we have decided to have Kei get married to Yoshioka-san." The man finally told the news, moving his attention to Tsukishima. The blonde looked out of it for a moment, but then blinked his eyes few times and his expression widened. It was as if he finally realized what his father had just told them. He turned to his brother who was as stiff as stone and as white as snow. Then he turned back to his father.

Tsukishima coughed to get permission to speak and once he had gotten it, the young adult opened his mouth. "As much as I do respect your decision and the fact that you're setting my future for me, I have to decline this offer. If someone should be her marriage partner, I think brother would be a much better choice." A long silence filled the room after Tsukishima had finished his sentence. Akiteru had finally gotten his colors back, but looked rather flustered about his brothers' words.

Not receiving an answer, Tsukishima was about to leave his seat. His attempt got interrupted, when the head of the family spoke. "When I said that we have decided on it, I didn't mean it as an offer, it was an order. We have discussed this matter together with Mabuchi-family and come to the mutual agreement that you and Yoshioka-san are to marry each other. You two are closer to age, Akiteru should find someone who is closer to his age." The man glanced at his still unmarried 25-year-old son. Akiteru's cheeks turned red from shame and he looked down, being unable to face his father.

Tsukishima shot a stare at his brother, who was facing down while squeezing his arms. His brothers' whole body was trembling; he was angry to the point he was biting his own lip to calm his nerves. Tsukishima was surprised to see his brother acting that way. Akiteru was rarely seen angry or helpless; he was good at hiding his real feelings and always kept that façade laugh on his face.

But this was one of those moments Akiteru's façade was falling down. The man had no more will power to keep up acting all cheerful and merry. His feelings had been hurt; his pride as a man had been totally scattered and even his father was looking down on him. His younger brother was about to take away the woman he loved.

Tsukishima fixed his glasses. "Be it an offer or an order, I'm not going to marry Yoshioka-san. I have a person I'm going out with." He announced. His mother and Akiteru gasped in shock. It was unheard in the Tsukishima family to date someone without the approval of the parents.

The father's eyes narrowed in anger. "Then break up with them! I can't believe my son has fallen as low as dating someone behind my back. Break up with them! There is no person who is more right for you than someone decided by your parents! You'll shame the whole family if you keep this up! Going out with a low life person…"

Tsukishima's rapid rise from the chair made it fall down on the floor. He was about slam his hands on the table, but stopped just few centimeters before after seeing his mother's terrified look. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Don't you dare to talk such way about the person I love! At least they are far better person than you, who's making his son marry a woman he doesn't love and will never love. I'm the one who is ashamed to be part of this family."

"Kei…" Tsukishima heard his mother whisper between her breaths. He shot a faint smile at her and turned around to leave the chaotic breakfast table.

The head of the family stood up from his seat, his face red from anger. "Tsukishima Kei, don't you dare to leave! We're not done talking yet!"

"Oh, do you want to know why I will never come to love her?" A smug smirk appeared of Tsukishima face as he fixed his glasses. "That's because I'm in love with a man. I will never come to love a woman." The youngest son of Tsukishima family announced.

A plate a house worker dropped broke and scattered around the floor.

For a minute the whole dining hall fell silent.

The mother looked like she was about to have a heart attack. Tears were running down her cheeks and she didn't her best to not start hyperventilating. The father was expressionless. Tsukishima wasn't sure how he should describe his expression. He didn't have one; or if he did then it would be pointed out as very dark and furious. Akiteru was the less surprised of the sudden announcement as he did know his brothers secret. He was more shocked about the fact that Tsukishima had the nerve and courage to reveal such thing to their father, who was known to detest gays.

"I'm leaving." Tsukishima finally broke the silence and waved his arm. "Thank you for the food."

"Tsukishima Kei." The young man was once again stopped on his track by his father. The deepening voice was threatening the house workers as their hid behind whatever they were carrying in their arms. Never had they seen their master in such rage.

"Return to your seat immediately! The discussion about your marriage with Yoshioka-san isn't over yet. I do allow you to leave now if you wish to, though." He told and Tsukishima was already turning away. "BUT! If you leave now, you are no longer my son."

If he was to stay, he would be married to woman his brother was in love with. If he left he wouldn't be part of the family. If he was to stay, he would be caged to a woman for the rest of his life. If he left he could be freed from his family and spend the rest of his life with Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima bit his lip and with a sigh turned back to rest of his family. He headed towards the table and lifted up the chair he had knocked down just few minutes earlier. Just as the father was about to sit with a relieved look to have his son back, Tsukishima pushed the chair under the table and walked out of the dining hall.

His father's eyebrows narrowed. "DON'T YOU DARE TO RETURN TO HIS HOUSE! YOU ARE NO LONGER A SON OF MINE!" were the last words Tsukishima heard before closing the door and heading towards work. Since the Promotion match was over, they didn't have to go to school till the graduation day. Also the entrance exams were already over, so Tsukishima spent his time working part-time job in a company of his father's close friend.

Tsukishima's eyebrows narrowed. Things were more serious than he had thought at first. He needed to inform Yamaguchi about his situation and they needed to figure out how to continue from now own. The blonde took his phone and messaged Yamaguchi to meet with him after work.

* * *

Tsukishima stood under a clock tower at Akairo plaza and looked around, searching for a familiar face. The young adult was obviously attracting attention and most of the women shot daring glances at the glassed boy. He was not only taller than most average people, he was slim yet muscular in body built and was clothed fashionably. He had light jeans and simple yellow T-shirt on top of what he was wearing dark blazer.

Few girls had stopped to stare at the sight of their life, and just as they had gathered enough courage to approach the hot stranger, he suddenly moved and smiled at them. The girls blushed when they saw the boy coming closer to them, only to realize that he wasn't walking towards them, but towards a tired looking boy just behind them.

When finally reaching Tsukishima, Yamaguchi apologized for being so late. He had rushed straight from part-time job and hadn't managed to change into proper clothing. The boy was wearing a simple volleyball tracksuit he had decided to put on in the morning. If he had known that he would be meeting with Tsukishima after work, he would've surely put on something more fitting. Compared to Tsukishima's flashy clothing he looked like a pauper.

"Should we go, we're drawing attention." Tsukishima commented as he realized that people were staring at them with very intense expressions while whispering. Especially the female audience was very curious about the glassed hottie in a blazer.

Yamaguchi sweat dropped at the comment. "It's more like you're the one who's drawing attention. I'm an extra and eyesore who breaks your perfect image by standing next to you." The boy told while massaging the back of his head. He gulped loudly when Tsukishima's expression got cold all of a sudden.

The blonde closed his eyes and took hold of Yamaguchi's arm. "Don't you dare to say the same words as my father. You're just perfect the way you are. Otherwise I wouldn't have fallen for you." A smug smirk escaped Tsukishima's lips as he saw Yamaguchi turning red like a tomato. He wasn't a person to sweet talk often, but from time to times, he did give some special service to his boyfriend. Yamaguchi's reactions were always daring and Tsukishima treasured seeing them.

Tsukishima caressed Yamaguchi's head and the two of them headed towards the latter's house. Yamaguchi's parents weren't present at the moment so the youngsters had the whole house for themselves. Yamaguchi opened the door with his key and let his boyfriend in. The two of them settled in the living room and the brunette went to kitchen to get something to eat.

"Do you want tea or coffee?" He asked Tsukishima while preparing two cups for him and the blonde. Tsukishima answered that he would take the latter one; somehow he was really into coffee at that moment. Once Yamaguchi was done, he brought two cups of coffee to the living room along with some snacks as an offering to his guest and other part.

Yamaguchi sat down and took a sip of his cup. He then glanced at Tsukishima who was taking a bite from mochi. "So what did you want to talk about? The matter seemed urgent." He then asked. Tsukishima stopped the meal for a moment and put his cup down.

He fixed his glasses and closed his eyes. "You know, today my father told me that they have found a marriage partner for me." He told and Yamaguchi almost chocked in his coffee. He spurted the coffee out and started coughing.

"Wha- WHAT? What did you say?"

Tsukishima's eyes softened for a moment and he looked down at his coffee. He then started explaining the situation to his boyfriend. "In the end father told me to return to finish the discussion about the marriage, or leave the house and abandon the name and protection of Tsukishima family. If I was to leave the house at that moment, I would no longer be his son."

Yamaguchi stared at the blonde with widened eyes. He gulped loudly. Did this mean that Tsukishima… that he?

"I couldn't bear the thought of abandoning you, so I walked out of the house at that very moment." Tsukishima told and finished the rest of his coffee in one go. "The problem is what are we going to do from now on? I cannot return to home, and there's no way we can stay here because of your family's condition."

Yamaguchi had started to work part-time during his Jr. High school days in order to support his family. Tsukishima knew that he couldn't burden the family with additional person to take care of, so it was better for them to leave the residence.

"Tadashi, I know this is sudden… but I want you to come with me. I can't promise you any bright future in the position I currentlyam, but I will do my best to be able to give you anything you want. I love you Tadashi, and I want spend the rest of my life with you."

Tsukishima was serious, Yamaguchi could tell it just by looking into his eyes. That expression and that tone in his voice; it was the same like when Tsukishima had first confessed his feelings to Yamaguchi. They were just like on the day Tsukishima asked Yamaguchi to go out with him.

"I… well… you know…" He couldn't response.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want. I think I can wait till your feel-"

"I want to come with you!" Yamaguchi finally got the words out, cutting Tsukishima's sentence. The blonde looked surprised when he stared at the brunette blushing hard while shooting short glances at his boyfriend. Yamaguchi felt his face heating up like a hot pot. He had been able to say his honest feelings. He wanted to be with Tsukishima. I didn't matter what the situation was like; be it happy, mad or sad, he wanted face and share them all with Tsukishima.

Tsukishima got up from his seat and walked to Yamaguchi. He knelt before the brunette and hugged him. "I knew it was right for me to fall in love with you. I really do love you, Tadashi." Tsukishima confessed his feelings all of a sudden, and approached Yamaguchi to kiss him.

Yamaguchi was surprised at first, but eventually returned the kiss.

* * *

"So why out of all the people in the world, we're seeking help from that self-centered King?" Tsukishima looked annoyed as they were standing before the door step of Kageyama household. Yamaguchi pressed the door bell and smiled at his boyfriend. "Because he's your only friend, and most likely the only person who will understand us and can help us."

"Only friend, my ass. The King will only look down on us like we're some poor peasants. There's no way he'll help us… I don't even want to fall so low to be actually asking help from _him_ …" The blonde groaned, to what Yamaguchi only smiled. He knew they shouldn't continue about that topic anymore; Tsukishima would never admit that he was friends with the raven.

"Yes?" The door was opened and a house worker was standing before the couple. Yamaguchi smiled kindly at the young woman and spoke. "Excuse me, is Kageyama Tobio currently home? We're his friends."

The house worker looked surprised. "Eh, don't you know… Tobio-sama moved away to live with his wife." Yamaguchi and Tsukishima both looked like they've heard the news of the century. The house worker noticed their confusion and continued. "Wait a minute, I'll give you the address." She left and soon returned with a piece of paper in her hands.

"I hope you'll find your way Yamaguchi-sama, Tsukishima-sama." The house worker told and bowed deep when seeing off the couple from the gate. Yamaguchi bowed to her as a thanks and the two of them headed towards the direction the note pointed at.

"Was it just me, or did she know our names even though we didn't introduce ourselves?" Yamaguchi wondered as they turned around a corner so that the Kageyama house disappeared from their distant sight. Tsukishima shrugged. "You must be imagining things."

Yamaguchi thought about it for a moment, but decided to go with his boyfriends words and smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I must be imagining things." He laughed happily. Tsukishima felt relieved to see Yamaguchi laughing so happily, and sneaked near the boy to take hold of his hand.

The couple found Kageyama's house without any problems, and got even into the house even though being confused about an unknown girl (who obviously wasn't a house worker… she didn't share their aura and mood) opening the door for them. Gladly Miharu came and cleared up the situation.

After thinking for minutes where he had seen the girl previously, Tsukishima came to the conclusion she must be the obento-girl Kageyama had been talking about. No – she wasn't just an obento-girl, she was the person who the house worker had claimed as Kageyama's wife. To think that the King of all people would be the first one to marry of them all.

After what it seemed like deadly hours, Kageyama finally came down and sat down to listen what the two of them wanted. Yamaguchi had trouble to speak; mostly because of the presence of the unknown girl, but also because he wasn't good dealing with Kageyama. Tsukishima got annoyed and finally blurted out that they had eloped.

"E- El- You WHAT?" Kageyama's reaction was priceless and Tsukishima wanted to hit the King for being able to make such face. There he was, asking the raven to help him, but he could only answer them with seriously sick expression. Tsukishima regret for even thinking that Kageyama would be any help to them. (And the ginger next to him was no better, to be honest. He wanted to smack both of them.)

"Ye- Yes, we eloped." Yamaguchi shuttered. "And we thought that maybe you could help us… Would it be possible to stay at your place for the time of being?" He asked. Tsukishima's eyes widened in shock. He shot an angry glare at his boyfriend. He hadn't heard anything about this part of the plan. So he had to go as low as to beg Kageyama to allow him to live in his house?

"Only for the time of being." The brunette continued in a hurry. "Once we find a good apartment we will move out as fast as possible." Yamaguchi assured and finally lowered his head and bowed. Kageyama and Hinata stared at the brunette with widened eyes. Hinata turned to Kageyama, who had seemed to frozen up.

"Oh, what a wonderful idea! The more the merrier as they say. I think I would be great to have more people here. This house is so big, it gets lonely sometimes." Miharu came walking down from the kitchen while carrying tea cups and some mochi with her. She put them on the table in the living room and poured the tea into cups. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima bowed lightly at the woman and took the offerings.

Kageyama thought about the woman's words for a moment. Finally he smiled with an approving smile. "Well I guess it wouldn't be bad to have some company. I think I'll go insane here for being always surrounded by women." Tsukishima wanted to burst out laughing. Kageyama and women truly where the worst combination ever. He then glanced at Hinata - but this seemed to be about something else.

"Well I think about it if…" Kageyama mumbled and shot a cocky smirk at Tsukishima. The latter one clicked his tongue. He should've guessed this to happen. Of course Kageyama would use the moment he's most vulnerable to humiliate him. It was easy to strike out a person who was only able to defend himself. No fear of him striking back.

The blonde squeezed his fists and while biting his lower lip he lowered his head. "I hope that you can help us." For the sake of Yamaguchi he had to swallow down his pride. After all it was him who got Yamaguchi involved into this mess. Yamaguchi stared at Tsukishima bowing and followed his example. "I hope that you can help us."

A malicious smirk appear on Kageyama's face as he saw the two bowing at him. He felt like for once he had won against Tsukishima. Oh, how great it felt! "If you put it that way, then there's no way for me to refuse you. You can take the guestroom near the kitchen. You're free to use any of the rooms, but there's one thing to remember. Don't even dare to set your foot on the second floor, not even the staircase." Kageyama told and left his seat. He headed to second floor and told Miharu to call him once dinner was ready.

Tsukishima glared at Kageyama and cursed inside him. That diabolic little King, he really enjoyed playing with others and control over them. He was sure that he would beat the crap out of him once they had managed to settle down with Yamaguchi.

The brunette tasted the tea Miharu had prepared for them and smiled kindly at Tsukishima.

"See, didn't I say that he'll help us for sure."


	15. Bentoboxes, Sports Bra and Bitch Slap

Hinata finished wrapping the fourth lunch box and smiled proudly. He then took off the apron and headed down to the dining hall to enjoy the breakfast that Miharu had prepared from him and the rest of the Kageyama residence. As soon as he sat down, he saw Tsukishima walking in being closely followed by Yamaguchi. Finally even Kageyama made his way in, yawning loudly while massaging his eyes. He had stayed up late to watch a volleyball game from TV.

"Ohayo." Hinata greeted everyone as they sat down to their seats, Kageyama opposite to him and Tsukishima next to the raven. Yamaguchi sat on the seat next to Hinata. He received very variant replies as Kageyama only growled between his breath and Tsukishima nodded his head. Yamaguchi was the only to reply with a whole sentence and bright smile. Everyone shifted their attention towards the food.

The whole dining hall was silent. Everyone was concentrating on the breakfast. The silence would have most likely continued till the end, if not Yamaguchi had finally decided to speak. "Isn't today the day when the results are announced?" He asked, receiving everyone's attention.

Hinata looked from the sides as Tsukishima and Kageyama glanced at each other and then at Yamaguchi. Finally the former one spoke. "Now that you said it… It is today." Yamaguchi smiled at the reply and then continued. "How about we all go to see the results together? We did apply to the same school after all."

Yamaguchi didn't need to wait for Tsukishima to speak to know his answer. The only problem was Kageyama. Would he bother to come together with them, or would he be stubborn and go alone? The raven glanced at Yamaguchi, and flinched at the sight of his begging eyes. Coughing Kageyama finally spoke. "Well, I think we can go. Either way someone would have to come to pick you up, so it'll be hella less troubling if we all go to-together, ya."

Hinata raised his eyebrow. First of all, in what kind of accent he just spoke. Secondly, did he just stutter? Third, was that a light shade of crimson, he saw in Kageyama's cheeks? The raven saw his intense stare and immediately gathered his stuff and left the table, leaving Miharu to pick it up. "Thank you for the meal." He told while fixing his tie. After that he took the bento Hinata had prepared for him and headed towards the front door. Miharu wished him to have a save trip and finally Kageyama left for work.

The trio was left staring at the closed front door with stunned looks. Finally Yamaguchi laughed desperately. "Should we finish the breakfast and head out too?" He had part-time shift starting soon and Tsukishima was still searching for job. So far no one of his acquaintances had accepted him, mostly because of the presence of his father. The blonde finally understood what it meant not to have the influence and protection of his family name. But he wasn't going to give up just yet; he wanted to prove to his father that he had the ability to get work even without the influence of his family.

The trio quickly finished their breakfast and left Miharu to clean up after them. Hinata had learned not to bother to take the dishes with him to the kitchen, the woman would only scold him for doing her work which she even got paid for doing. He didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Just as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were heading out, Hinata stopped them. "Please, take these with you." He called for the two and handed out two bentoboxes wrapped into yellow and green cloths. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi glanced at each other, looking surprised. "We… can we?" Yamaguchi finally stuttered, pointing at himself.

Hinata smiled. "I'm used to make two bento's so making few more won't bother me at all. Actually it's more fun this way." He admitted while laughing widely. After shooting at each other few more glances Yamaguchi and Tsukishima finally reached out to take the boxes. Yamaguchi smiled widely while thanking and Hinata did hear a faint thanks coming from Tsukishima.

The ginger smiled widely. He was so happy. He could finally prepare more food and try different variants. Yamauguchi couldn't help but smile at the sight of sparkling Hinata. It must have meat much for the orange-bush to be able to prepare breakfast for the rest of the residents. He then turned to Tsukishima who was putting his box into his bag.

"Are you ready?" Yamaguchi asked, even though he could clearly see that Tsukishima was more than ready to leave. The couple put on their shoes and headed out towards the car that was waiting for them. Yamaguchi was heading towards his part-time and Tsukishima was going to do some job hunting. Hinata followed close after them and entered the car that was waiting for him. He had promised to visit Saeko's shop before heading to school. It seemed that they had prepared something for him.

"See you later." Hinata heard Yamaguchi shouting while waving his arm. He answered with a small wave and entered the car. From the windscreen he saw as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima entered the car and the driver sat to his seat and started the car.

Finally he heard the engine of his car starting up. He leaned against the window while squeezing the school bag. A light sigh escaped from his lips. The conversation in the morning had returned him back to reality. The reality that he wasn't actually a high school freshman Kageyama Natsu but a graduate Hinata Shoyo. That he should be entering university in the April.

_University… huh?_

* * *

"Sorry for intrusion," Hinata said as he opened the door to Saeko's work place. He was greeted by a noisy laugh coming from the person sitting around the breakfast table. Saeko put down her cup of tea and took a bite from the biscuit Kiyoko had prepared for them. Kiyoko sat opposite to her, enjoying her breakfast.

"You're late! I was getting tired of waiting!" The blonde told munching the biscuit.

Hinata got shivers down his body and quickly apologized. He still wasn't used to Saeko's bossy nature; in terms of personality he preferred the calm Kiyoko. At the thought of the woman his eyes met with her and the duo bowed their heads at each other as a greeting. After this Kiyoko returned her attention back to breakfast.

Saeko, who apparently had finished her meal, stood up and went to get something from the next room. When she came back, the woman started speaking in excited tone. "We called you here today because we have something for you. Something you might like, brat."

Even though she tried to be polite, it was obvious that Saeko couldn't do anything to her rough language.

"TADA!" Saeko announced proudly while swinging a nude colored sports-bra just before Hinata's eyes. The gingers eyes widened, but he did not retreat. After all that mysterious object to all men was something he was currently wearing underneath his uniform.

"What is it for?" He didn't get why go all the trouble to show the bra to him. They could've just brought it to him, it wasn't so hard thing to do.

Saeko and Kiyoko glanced at each other. Hinata was really slow at times, but maybe it was because they hadn't explained the thing to him. A smirk appeared on Saeko's face. "What is this for… This is the key item for you to be able to play volleyball in your current high school."

Hinata blinked his eyes. After a few seconds his expression started to shine. "WHAT DID YOU SAY!? I CAN PLAY VOLLEYBALL?" His eyes were like two pearls bathing in the sun light. He had the face of a child who found his precious toy that had been lost. The boy started to jump around the place.

Kiyoko smiled and stood up from her seat. She walked to Saeko and spoke. "We felt really bad for taking even volleyball from you. You've already lost so much in so little time. So… think of this as a present from us." She blushed hard and hid her face behind Saeko's shoulder.

"The bra is specially made for sports. The inside material is made to look more breast-like… and it's also more boun…" Saeko started to explain, but was cut off by Kiyoko. The black-head looked at her and shook her head. Saeko showed a light smile. Right, it was no use to explain things to Hinata. She glanced at the boy whose brightness wouldn't lose to even little miss sunshine herself.

"BUT!" Saeko suddenly shouted, catching Hinata's attention. "Even though we made this, you still must be very careful when playing with the girls. Try to have as little contact with them as possible. Don't injure yourself! Change your uniform in the toilet. Be sure to be the last one to come and last one to leave." She spoke and kept a small pause to catch her breath.

"And lastly, HOLD YOUR HORSES! No matter how much of a woman we can turn you into with make-up, clothes and fake breast, you're still a man! We can't do anything about that thing inside your pants." Saeko spoke boldly while pointing at Hinata's skirt.

The shop fell silent. Hinata and Kiyoko blushed hard, both for different reasons while Saeko still kept her eyes fixed on Hinata's skirt. Finally she snapped out of it and shook her head. "Okay, we're finished now go. Otherwise you'll be late for school."

Hinata looked flustered and with slightly nervous yet excited steps he skipped out of the shop. Just before closing the door he turned around and with bright smile and red cheeks he took a deep breath in. "Thank you!" He yelled and closed the door behind him.

Kiyoko, who had finally managed to gather herself together, turned to look at Saeko. "Do you think he's going to be alright."

Saeko crossed her arms, watching as the car Hinata walked into drove away. She then closed her eyes. "He better be, that radiating sunshine brat."

* * *

As soon as the bell rang Hinata made sure he kept his eyes on Amaya. He stuffed his belongings into his backpack and headed after the blue-haired girl. Emiko questioned where he was going and he replied with a quick "I'm going to toilet," before dashing off the classroom.

He had been watching that Amaya girl for almost a week now. During that time the girl had been absent two times. Every time he had set his eyes on following her, she always disappeared somewhere, or he had been interrupted by Michiyo and the gang. This time he made sure he wouldn't lose her from his sight.

Amaya made her way to the library, which was located on the other end of the building. Hinata wondered why she bothered to go all the way there, because in just few minutes she would have to head back if she wanted to make it in time for next lesson. As the girl entered, Hinata followed her closely and peeked into the library.

Amaya headed for the desk to return few books she had apparently borrowed earlier. Then she headed towards the history section of the library and started searching for a next book to borrow. Hinata entered the library with small and quiet steps. He tried to make a little noise as possible. Almost all of the passing students glanced at him with confused looks, because even though he was quiet with his steps, he was as visible as possible.

Finally Amaya had found a book worth of reading and she sat down to read it for a bit. It wasn't for long she could enjoy it, but she still decided to use all the time she had. She didn't want to spend time in the classroom any more than necessary. That awful place was driving her mind crazy. It would only be a question of time before she would have an attack there.

Hinata used this chance to pick up the nearest book and then sat on the seat opposite to Amaya. He tried to look as if he was reading the book, but the whole time his attention was on Amaya. He wanted to be alert for the next move she was going to make.

Meanwhile Amaya was reading her book. At least she tried her best to concentrate on it. If it wasn't for the stern glare she had been receiving from the person opposite to her for a while now. The girl closed her eyes while sighing.

Amaya took her eyes off the book in front of her and glanced at the person in front of her. It was the transfer student who had joined their class that week. It was unusual time to be transferring just before the end of school year. Well, in any way this stalker girl was unusual with that orange perm of her.

"What do you want from me, stalker-chan?" Amaya's patience had finally reached its top and she opened her mouth. The orange-haired girl jumped in startle at the sudden strike of conversation. Her arms trembling she tried to concentrate on the book.

"Wh- What do you mean? I'm just reading the book…" a pathetic excuse of an excuse. Couldn't she come up with anything more… fascinating? Amaya sighed and closed her book. A smirk appeared on her face. "I wonder since when people have started to read book upside down… or are you some sort of tensai?" The most cliché or cliché there could be.

Hinata was holding his book upside down.

The boy flushed red and put the book down, sighing in defeat. Amaya showed a smug smirk and then spoke, leaning her jaw against her palm. "What do you want from me, stalker-chan?" She repeated her question. Hinata's eyes widened. Lowering his head, he finally spoke.

"I'm not a stalk-"

"You've been following me ever since you transferred to this school. You've been coming after me during every break and watched me from the distance. Sometimes you've even come after me after school. If that's not stalking then I don't know what is." Amaya interrupted Hinata and glared at the boy with mean eyes.

When she put it that way, it really sounded as if Hinata had been stalking her. He needed to do something to clear up the misunderstanding. The boy gulped. "No the thing is… I'm interested in you… I…"

"Lesbian?" Amaya raised her eyebrow.

Other than that, she didn't even flinch.

Hinata panicked. "No no! Not that way… I just… umm…"

Why it was so hard to explain it to her. Maybe because he was up against a girl… and maybe because he had never done such thing before. Nishinoya and Kenma were the ones who approached him first. "I would like to become friends with you!" He finally managed to blurt out.

"Why bother? You're already besties with the Queen trio. It'll ruin your reputation if you start hanging out with an outcast like me." Amaya's words were so right on the spot, it hurt. It was true that he should remain in his current position, now that he has finally been accepted as part of the class. He knew that very well.

But he couldn't leave Amaya alone. That girl was so much like him.

"I might do so… No it definitely will…" Hinata hesitated for a moment, but then fixed his posture. "But I want to do it anyway, I want to become friends with you Aomine-san." Hinata went as far as to bow at the girl. Amaya's eyes widened in shock, but she soon recovered.

"I have to decline your request. I'm not interested in making any friends." The girl said and left. It was already time to head back to classroom and she still needed borrow the book. Hinata panicked at the sight of the leaving girl and hurried after her. He needed to get things working.

He grabbed Amaya's arm and was about to say something. What interrupted him was an unexpected force coming from his left which eventually made contact with his cheek. A slap was heard and Hinata fell on his knees, followed by the sound of falling books.

Hinata covered the red stained cheek as he watched Amaya to pick up the book she had thrown away in order to free her hand. As she had picked it up, she walked before Hinata and glared at him with murderous look. "Don't dare to touch me."

Finally she left, and everyone in the room dared to breath again. They stared at the girl going in full silence, but soon recovered and went do finish whatever business they were doing. Hinata was left on the floor, massaging the itching cheek where he had just been hit. He was sure of one thing.

_Man, that hurt!_

* * *

"Come on Kageyama-chan! Hurry up, we're going to be late!" Emiko hurried Hinata, who was trying his best to change his school uniform to gym clothes. No matter what people would say to him, he was sure to use track-trousers when even training with the girls. He didn't want to put those tights on.

When Hinata finally came out of the restroom, Emiko grabbed him arm and forced him to follow her, without giving him chances to do anything else. It was obvious that the girl was anxious and excited to introduce Hinata to her team.

"Minna, I brought her! Our new teammate!" Emiko announced happily as she forced the gym door open. She obviously interrupted training, as her yell was followed by a complete silence. Only a ball hitting the floor was heard. Everyone soon gathered around the girl.

"So you're finally coming to see our practice, Kageyama-kun." That was a voice Hinata recognized. He turned towards the voice and saw a brown-haired girl coming towards. Her hair was on a doughnut bun and she was wearing a seagreen hairband.

He recognized the voice but… "Who?" Hinata could only ask, as he looked at the person whose face he had never seen. The person stared at him for a while, but then she burst into laughter. She took her crutches and walked towards him.

"Do I really look that different with my hair up?" She had been told it so many times by her teammates, but only now the captain Akiyama Hotaru started to believe that it was actually true. Even though she wasn't allowed to join the practice for another half-a-week, Hotaru couldn't keep herself away from the gym. She wanted to be with the rest of the team.

"So everyone, this is Kageyama Natsu and she'll be joining us today." Beside Hotaru and Emiko the currently team had four more members.

"Good, we're in need of a middle blocker!" A tall girl with blonde curly hair told. She stared at Hinata and examined him from head to toes with earnest look. "She's little short, but well… obviously not the shortest one." The girl glanced at her teammate who had bright red hair and was almost half-head shorter than Hinata.

The red-head pouted hard. "Well, excuse me!" She crossed her arms and turned away from the tall blonde while giving her a cold shoulder. The blonde shrugged turning back to Hotaru.

Hinata panicked. "But… but… I've always played as wing spiker."

"Don't worry we teach you well." One of the girls who had yet to speak, smiled kindly at Hinata. She was just a little taller than Hinata and had raven-hair. In many ways the girl reminded him of Kageyama, her straight hair was tied up on a simple ponytail and even her eyes were bluish.

"WE TEACH YOU WELL!" Finally the last person spoke, or to say, yelled. She was very energetic person, Hinata thought while watching as she moved around excited, not being able to remain in one spot. She was taller than Hinata and the previous person. Her hair reached till her neck and it was cinnamon colored. The golden-brown eyes of hers shined like a dazzling sun.

"Not you, Junko-chan. You're a wing spiker." The raven told.

Hinata watched as in a mere second the dazzling eyes turned into wood colored ones. All the color and enthusiasm left the person and she turned into stone. "EH? NOO!" She complained, only to get the raven admonish her.

Hotaru smiled at her team mates and then turned at Hinata. "You already know Emiko-kun and me, but let me introduce the rest of the team." She told and then pointed at the tallest girl with short, blond perms and whiskies. Her side bangs reached till her shoulders and she had sea-blue eyes hiding behind her thick eye brows. Her skin tone was very light, it could almost be compared to snow, if Hinata had anything to say about it.

"She's Isoya Nobuko, a second year student. Even though she's the tallest of us all, she's our most trustworthy and only libero." Hotaru introduced the girl. Hinata glanced at her, well at her height she could be the ace and get points from others would be easy-peasy. But still she had decided to become a protector of her own side of the court. In a way, Hinata admired this person. This girl whose appearance and name sounded familiar.

He knew he had seen her during the promotion match, but there was something more to her. She looked very much like someone he had also met just recently. "She's also Isoya 'The Queens' little sister." Emiko whispered to Hinata's ear, seeing his confusion. Oh, no wonder she looked familiar. So she was actually a family member with the gigantic monster of the 'En Passant'.

Hotaru continued to the other person. "Then we have Sato Kanon. Kanon-kun is our vice-captain and currently the only middle blocker on the team. We'll be leaving you in her care." The raven-haired Kageyama look-a-like smiled at Hinata. The boy bowed and asked for her to take good care of him.

"Lastly we have the first year combo. Suzuki Kaoru and Minami Junko. They both play the position of a wing spiker, just like Emiko-kun." Hotaru told and the two girls ran to Hinata and hugged him tightly. They then swarmed around the poor boy and started throwing questions at him. They would've continued if not for the loud sound of Hotaru hitting her crutches against the floor.

As the gym fell silent, Hotaru opened her mouth. "I know at least one girl who will be joining us during spring break. Otherwise let's hope that we'll be have new first year coming. Our girls' team has never been as popular as the boys." She laughed little desperate. Finally everyone was dismissed and they returned back to their practice. Hinata wanted to join as soon as possible, but before that he wanted to confirm one thing.

"Etto… Captain?" He was hesitant on what to call the girl. Hotaru reacted at his question and turned her head towards him. "What position do you play?" There was one possible, but he still decided to confirm that he was right.

"Oh dear… did I never mention it? I play as setter."

Bingo! This girl played the same position as the King, Kageyama Tobio. Hinata's expression turned into wide smile and he wasn't able to hide his excitement any longer. This was going to be so fun! He was going to play volleyball!

* * *

Kageyama was getting impatient. He had been waiting for Tsukishima and Yamaguchi for a whole minute already and the two of them were nowhere to be seen. How slow those commoners could get? He was already ready to give up and leave on his own when the mentioned duo finally arrived at the entrance.

"What took you so long, you're one minute late." Kageyama murmured without thinking only to regret his words the very second he saw Tsukishima's smirk. "Ooh, how scary. We made the King wait for a whole minute. Now he's so going to finish us." Yamaguchi giggled at his words, but Kageyama's murderous glare made him stop.

"Shall we go?" It was a good way to change the topic.

As the boys walked towards the bulleting board, they saw a tall blonde figure standing before it while trying to find his number. When the figure turned around and saw the trio he started waving his arm. "Tobiocchi, Tsukishima! You're here for the results as well." Isoya laughed happily as he reunited with his team mates.

"Why am I the only one with that weird nickname?" Kageyama sighed.

"Because you're the King, isn't that obvious." Tsukishima sneered, reminding him of the one very thing he didn't like. Kageyama did send a glare at the glasses guy, but decided not to say anything more. All four of them decided to change their attention towards the bulleting board.

"Oh, I see my number! I'm in!" Isoya was the first one to find his number.

"It was obvious from the start that my number would be there." Tsukishima smiled happily as he found his own number. Now the only people left where Kageyama and Yamaguchi.

"I'm in." Was short announcement from Kageyama. Though he kept on a cool face, in reality he wanted to jump around the area and play volleyball. He was so happy he got in that it was almost impossible to keep his mouth from turning into big and wide smile. He finally got to the school where _he_ was.

All three guys turned their eyes at Yamaguchi. The boy got nervous for receiving so many curious glances and he started to panic. He needed to find his number. It'll be so embarrassing if he was the only one who didn't get into the school. He wanted to find his number.

"Th-ere… I'm in!" They finally heard Yamaguchi making a cry of relief. He even got tears running down his cheeks. That's how happy he was. He was so happy to be able to study in the same school as Tsukishima. That had been his dream ever since he had met Tsukishima in Jr. High.

"That means we're all in!" Isoya laughed happily and said that they should go eat something to celebrate their entering. "Oh, by the way. It's next Sunday, right?" He then said and the trio glanced at him with confused looks.

"What is?" Kageyama asked. Why people always had to be so mysterious. Couldn't they just announce the thing without any additional questions?

Isoya smiled.

"The Graduation, of course!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapter update due to my absence. Enjoy.   
> Next chapter shall be out next week!


	16. Kageyama's Gift

Once he had finished getting dressed up, Hinata entered the study room and sat before the Butsudan. He filled the cup with green tea and put it on the platform along with a rice bowl. After that he lighted up the candlesticks and prayed for a small moment. Finally, Hinata opened his eyes and looked at the picture of his younger sister. "Natsu, please look after me today as well."

When he was done, Hinata stood up and put off the candles. He then headed to the dining hall, where everyone was already enjoying their breakfast; Hinata was the last one to join. He looked surprised to see everyone in school uniform. It was only after a short while that ginger finally understood what day it was. Of course, it was the day of the graduation ceremony.

"So, I and Tsukishima are heading to school. Yamaguchi you'll be going with her." Kageyama suddenly broke the silence. He pointed at the boy, not even bothering to call Hinata by name. It seems that he still refused to accept him as his wife.

After finishing breakfast everyone headed towards the cars. Hinata already sat inside while Yamaguchi took his sweet time to speak with Tsukishima. Finally the brunette ran to the car and they headed off. Hinata glanced at Yamaguchi, who was sitting next to him, grinning widely while holding something in his arms.

"What's that?" The orange-head wondered, curious. What was able to put such sincere and sparkling smile into Yamaguchi's face? The brunette smiled at Hinata and opened his palm a little to show what was inside. Hinata saw him holding a small button.

"It's the second button of Tsukki's uniform." Yamaguchi told, and then hid the button into his jacket's pocket. He checked few times that it was there and then smiled with approving look. He noticed Hinata's confused – or to say, blank – expression and laughed a little. "You know, in Teikoku they have the same tradition as most middle schools. On the graduation day the boys give away their second button to their most important girl." By this time, the ginger noticed that Yamaguchi was also missing the second button of his gakuran.

Hinata's expression softened a little bit and he let out a light smile. He couldn't help but to feel happy for Yamaguchi, who despite his awful situation could enjoy his life and keep on smiling. That boy had to leave everything he hold dear to him in order to follow the person he loved.

Hinata wasn't sure if he could've done the same thing in Yamaguchi's situation. He didn't know if his love would be strong enough to overcome such obstacle, because he was already facing a situation where he would want to just throw it all away and walk out from the battlefield.

Hinata wasn't sure for how long he could keep on fighting. The only force that drove him forward was his promise with mother to follow Natsu's wish. But slowly the memory of that promise and the determination to strive for it was fading away. Soon he would be left with nothing but empty words.

The ginger was returned back to reality when the car suddenly stopped and Yamaguchi stepped out of. The brunette smiled at Hinata. "Good luck on your last day," he wished and after Hinata's short answer, he closed the door and headed towards the school building. The engine started again and the driver took Hinata to his school.

It wasn't a long ride by car, but Hinata knew it would've taken him at least 30 minutes to walk the distance by foot. As the car parked before the gate Hinata stepped out and waited as the driver closed the door behind him. He smiled kindly at the man and with a nod of a head then headed out.

The weather was truly incredible that day, if one was to make a comment on it. The sun was shining brightly on the clear blue sky, the light breeze cooled down the air and the birds were singing happily while flying from a tree to tree. Yep, a perfect day to play volleyball! Hinata celebrated as he started to feel excited. He couldn't wait for the school to end so that he could feel the court and the touch of the ball again.

The ginger was brought back to reality by sudden whispers near him. He looked around himself and realized that all gazes were directed towards something or someone behind him. Curious, he turned around and saw a black Maybach Exelero being parked near the entrance. No, people weren't staring at the car – they were staring at the two person stepping out of the car.

"Hey, isn't that Kageyama-sama and Tsukishima-sama?" A whisper came from Hinata's left.

"How come they're coming to school together?"

"Eh? Have those two always been so close?"

The duo were at the center of everyone's attention. As they started to head towards the school building, Kageyama glanced at Tsukishima with murderous expression. "It really was bad decision for me to come together to school with you. We stand out too much." He cursed. He really had underestimated their popularity within the school.

Tsukishima smirked. "Aww, the King feels his popularity is threatened for being seen with a commoner." The smug expression the glasses guy made, irritated Kageyama. "Well, it if annoys you so much, you should've come together with your wife." Tsukishima then comment.

Never! That would make things only worse. People would've found out that he's married and then there'll be people barging into his and his parents' house asking meaningless questions. If that thing would be leaked out not him or his wife could keep on living as they currently were. Their life would be ruined. Well, not that he cared what would happen to her. He just didn't want his life style being troubled.

"No, never." He finally mumbled. "No matter how unpleasant this situation feels, it's far better than coming with her." For once, Kageyama was actually being honest with his feelings. Tsukishima's eyes widened for a moment, but then he pulled his arm up to fix his glasses.

"Well, you're not the only one feeling troubled. If possible I would like to get as far away from you as possible, King." The blonde laughed miserably (faking it, of course) obviously in a manner to mock Kageyama. "To think that I'm living in the same house as you."

"Ooh, be glad that I even let you in. I can kick you two out any moment I want." Kageyama's expression darkened as he glared at Tsukishima. The atmosphere between the two dropped immediately. The two of them only stared at each other with cold eyes.

"I don't care what happens to me, but if you dare to hurt Yama-"

"Tobiocchi! Tsukishima!" A cheerful yell interrupted Tsukishima. The duo glanced at each other and then humphed while looking away. At the same time Isoya had already reached them. "How come the two of you are coming to school together? Did something happen?"

"More like, why do you look like you're ready to kill each other… did something happen?" Matsuura looked worried. Before Kageyama or Tsukishima could answer, the rest of the volleyball had joined them. The final member to join the circle was Handa Kou, the manager of the team.

"The whole team has gathered." She smiled at Matsuura and rest of the boys. Soon her smile faded away and she did her best to swallow her tears away. Unable to keep them away she had to brush some away with her sleeve. "Damn, this is supposed to be happy day. I can't start crying yet. After all it's our last day as a team."

The boys looked at her and their smiles were slowly drawn away. They finally realized – their manager made them to realize it – that this was their last together as a team. This was their final day they were all gathered together. From this day on, they would all go separate way. Of course, some of them would stick together, but the team wasn't complete anymore.

This was their final day.

Hinata was staring from the sidelines and the heavy air was suddenly broken by Isoya's enthusiastic yell to stop worrying about trivial things. He smiled miserably, feeling little jealous. He was separated from the team, from his friends. He was envious of these guys who held their team so dear to them. He had never been part of that circle. He was just an extra, a bench warmer who almost never had the chance to enter the court.

He too wanted a team like that. A team he belonged to. A team he was part of.

Hinata gripped the handle of his bag tighter when he felt his feelings taking the best of him. He sneezed in, trying to pull away the tears that tried to appear into the corners of his eyes. Oh, how lame of him. An adult man crying like a little child.

"Kageyama-chan!" His self-angst moment was interrupted by a sudden hug from behind. Hinata was so startled he literally jumped up. Strong arms wrapped around him and he turned his head only to see Emiko hugging him tightly. Michiyo and Kazuko were standing just behind her and the former one smiled kindly while waving her hand as a greeting.

"Let's go! The lesson is about to start." Emiko then said and (like usually) pulled Hinata with her. The boy looked surprised, but then let out a light smile. Maybe he too would find his own team in this school.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang, Hinata left his seat and rushed after Amaya - who was obviously trying to lose him. When passing Emiko's and the gangs' seats, he mumbled "going to toilet" before passing through the doorway and disappearing behind the corner. Emiko and Michiyo stared at each other with widened eyes. Kazuko didn't mind the situation at all; she was sketching next work on paper.

"Don't you think Kageyama-chan been disappearing to toilet far too often recently?" Emiko wondered, still staring at the doorway Hinata had vanished. She was especially curious about the fact, why the girl was rushing out of the classroom like she couldn't hold up any longer. And that; every single break…

Really?

"I wonder what she's up to…" Michiyo's expression was rather blank. She just moved her eyes from side to side, trying to avoid eye contact with Emiko. The girl would immediately think that there was something wrong with her, Michiyo just knew it.

Ever since the incident with Kageyama; and the rumors of Hinata and Kageyama going back home together to buy the former one a phone, Michiyo had been suspicious of Hinata. Of course, she didn't show it openly, but she did keep close eye on the newcomer. The ginger had barely been a week in the school and she was already rushing out somewhere during the breaks, even though they had bothered to let her join their group.

She had a bad feeling about it all. This implied, there could be trouble.

"Aomine-san, wait!" Hinata yelled as he dashed after the bluenette. The said girl was jumping down the stairs while trying to make Hinata lose track of her by turning at the most unexpected corners and leading him into completely isolated part of the school.

Finally, Amaya had to stop to catch her breath. She cursed for being so out of shape when it seemed that the person chasing after her wasn't even little bit exhausted. The blue-head leaned against her legs and raised her head to glare at the ginger.

"What do you want from me?" It was more of a demand than a question. She demanded to know just why the other person was chasing after her so persistently. Amaya just couldn't keep up with this game of tag anymore. Even after her slap this person wasn't willing to back off. It was better to face them off properly.

Hinata stared at the puffing girl, and smiled a little bit. Finally she was willing to speak with him! Finally she was willing to listen to his simple request. "There's only one thing I want." He finally admitted and continued. "Aomine Amaya-san, please become my friend." He once more begged.

Amaya stared at the boy with widened eyes. Her mouth had dropped down and it was wide open. It took minutes for her to recover from the situation. Then, her expression darkened. "I already told this once, why bother? You're friends with the Queen trio… becoming friends with me will only make you an outcast and you'll be avoided by the whole class. You can't break the status quo so easily." Amaya was serious. One could easily tell that she knew her place in the classroom, she knew what people thought of her, and that she didn't want others to be treated like her.

Hinata was silent for a moment. "I know that it would be the best to remain on everyone's good side while I'm still in it. I know that the easiest way for me to live on this school system is to remain with the trio." Hinata knew the situation maybe a little too well.

A weak smile was shown on Amaya's face. "Well, then you should realize that the best thing is to leave things as they are no-"

"But I also know what it is to be treated like an outcast. I know how it feels to be the plague of the class." Hinata showed a forced smile and continued. "I want to become friends with Aomine-san. That is my decision and I will not change my mind. I'm choosing Aomine-san over the Queens. I want to try breaking the status quo." He laughed just a little bit, trying to act cool.

Amaya felt something inside her changing. She was at her limit. She knew that she could possibly break any moment soon, if this conversation was to continue. Once again she had lost to someone who was mentally stronger than her.

Her whole body was still aching from the day before. The pain slowly spread around her body and she did her best not to cry in pain. Her breathing started fasten as she remember what had happened…

Maybe this was it was for the best, she thought deep inside her. Maybe this person could change her situation… or maybe not. The little hope she had had disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

Who was she even kidding?

"Do as you wish."

She said before dashing off.

Hinata was left standing there alone, dumbfounded. He had finally gotten a positive answer from her. He had finally become friends with her. Aomine Amaya had accepted him as her friend.

_If only he knew what it meant to become friends with her._

* * *

Kageyama finished his lunch and put away the empty bentobox that Hinata – like always – had prepared for him. He would most likely never admit it, but his all for nothing wife at least knew how to prepare a good meal. Each and every time she managed to surprise him with even more delicious lunch.

Isoya was observing Kageyama from the sides and grinned widely. "You seem to enjoy your lunch! I'm jealous that Tobiocchi has found himself a woman!" He yelled all of a sudden. Everyone around them went silent. Shibayama and Haiba stared at the raven with widened eyes. Even the captain looked surprised of the sudden news.

Kageyama hid his face with his palm. This was no good. It had been the worst scenario to get found out by Isoya. After all he was a blabbermouth, and now because of him everyone would know that he was actually married. And that would put the whole school into chaos. Oh, how much he hated to be in this situation.

"You, what?" Haiba was at lost in words.

"How come you didn't tell us about it?" Shibayama sounded hurt. At the same time, his expression told that he was rather excited of these sudden news. Kunimi was the only person to remain far away from the hot topic. He had no interest in such things.

"Who is it?" Kou, who was also eating lunch with the boys asked, curious.

"It's that Kageyama brat from first year." Tsukishima commented out of nowhere, entering the conversation all of a sudden. Kageyama shot a murderous glare towards the blonde, which was ignored completely. Tsukishima just smirked inwardly. Kageyama had created this situation on his own – by hiding the truth from everyone. So now he should take responsibility to answer everyone.

"The transfer student?" Kou looked surprised. But that time the girl had made in pretty much clear that they weren't related to Kageyama. Had she lied to her? Knowing Kageyama, he most likely had forced her to keep everything a secret.

"More like! How come you knew about this Tsukishima?" Haiba questioned all of a sudden.

"Yeah! And if you knew why didn't you tell us!" Shibayama's excitement had turned into anger.

Tsukishima fixed his glasses and glanced at Kageyama. He completely ignored the two guys who were throwing questions at him and trying to find out more about this mysterious woman of their teammate. Tsukishima knew that angering (teasing) Kageyama any more than this would affect his living with Yamaguchi in the Kageyama household. In the worst scenario Kageyama would indeed kick them out.

"Oh, so lively!" Isoya laughed, completely ignorant to the mess he had created. His expression then changed into grin and he moved closer to Kageyama. He wrapped his arm around Kageyama's neck. "Yoh, husband! You should go and give your second button to your wife."

Came out a suggestion Kageyama hadn't even thought about in his dream. No, that kind of idea would never have occurred his mind. Never. This was something only Isoya was capable of coming with. Or at least someone who wasn't Kageyama Tobio.

The rooftop fell into silence as everyone took their time to process Isoya's words. Finally Haiba and Shibayama grinned widely. "Yeah! You should definitely do it! I'm sure she'll be overjoyed! Who wouldn't want such present from Kageyama, the King of the Court!?" Haiba nodded excited.

"I'm so jealous of you! To think even King would have a special girl he'll present the button." Shibayama was crying out manly tears while pulling out his fist. Haiba soon joined him and the duo cried out loud together. Matsuura laughed desperately while other three didn't show any reaction.

Those two were always like this.

Oh, so dramatic.

"Oh my, but you too have a handful of fans. I'm sure one of them will take your button." Isoya smacked the duos back, trying to cheer them up. Even though Tsukishima and Kageyama dominated the fan base, it was clear that everyone in the volleyball was popular. There obviously would be girls battling for the second button of each volleyball club member.

"But it's not the same!" Sibayama and Haiba kept on crying.

Isoya realized it was useless to comfort them anymore (as they weren't listening) and turned to Kageyama. "So, what do you think about it? Will you give it to wife-chan?" He asked curious. Kageyama furrowed his eyes brows with dark aura surrounding him, but kept silent.

He currently had two options. Either to agree immediately or suggest Isoya do something before he'll agree. Isoya was the kind of person who wouldn't back off once he got into something. Now that he wants Kageyama to give the button to Hinata, he will not stop bothering the raven till he sees it happen.

Kageyama tried to think of something, what would drive Isoya into a corner. Finally, Kageyama's eyes widened at the thought of him. The corners of his mouth turned upward and he started emitting rather self-conscious aura combined with assertive laugh.

"Oh surely, I'll do it." Kageyama smirked, glancing at the blonde.

Isoya was already celebrating, maybe a little too early.

"But! First you need to give your second button to the three legs." Kageyama voiced out his conditions. He had always gone by the flow of Isoya, but this time he wanted to be the one to set the rules.

Isoya froze. The corner of his mouth twisted few times, until he burst out laughing. "Haha! To think Tobiocchi would suggest something like this." He then calmed down and his expression got serious. The stillness of him Kageyama creeps. He had never seen Isoya acting that way. "Don't forget your promise. Once firefly receives her light, you'll be dancing with the shadow."* **(1)**

"Ooh! This is getting so exciting!" Haiba and Shibayama suddenly joined, having recovered from their depression. "Both King and Queen are battling for their favorites." The latter one then added. And this battle was something he didn't want to miss.

"By the day, Tsukishima. Who you'll be giving your button?" Haiba then turned the conversation towards the glasses guy. He glanced at the others from the corners of their eyes and smirked. "I already gave it." This of course brought ruckus. The duo demanded to know who the receiver of the second button was. Tsukishima made sure to keep him sealed.

"How about you captain?" Kunimi Akira asked all of a sudden, finally showing interest in the conversation, when Matsuura was enjoying his time to laugh at (and with) his teammates. Once again a question which made the rooftop to fall silent. Everyone's attention was now targeted at the captain.

"But of course it's… Kou." Blood rushed to his cheeks as he looked down while laughing embarrassed. The girl next to him was no better, the redness of their faces could be compared with apples. The couple shyly glanced at each other and turned their eyes away.

"But of course! Oh, sometimes I forget that you two are actually going out." Isoya blurted out, which made the atmosphere heavy. Matsuura gulped down and waited for the bomb to finally explode. Haiba and Shibayama's jaws dropped.

"SINCE WHEN?"

Even though they had been friends for years, it seems that they still didn't know everything about each other.

* * *

"I can't believe it's already this day! The senpai are graduating! A completely year has passed." Emiko sighed loudly, as the girls were heading from volleyball club to their classroom. The girls' club had held farewell gathering with their graduating third years and Michiyo and Kazuko had accompanied them, since neither of their clubs held such thing. "I'm gonna miss playing volleyball with them." The girl then added melancholy, slowly proceeding into state of depression.

Michiyo wanted to cheer up her friend, but was at lost what to do. Her ties with the elder club members weren't much. In fact, due to work, she almost never attended to the club meetings and barely spoke to any of the other members. It was as if she was a ghost member – a part of the club in name only. That's why she couldn't identify with Emiko, to whom the club and volleyball was her whole school life.

Kazuko patted Emiko's shoulder and told that she would next time draw a picture of her spiking the ball. Emiko laughed at this and wiped away her tears. She then added that if she was to draw someone it should be either the captain, vice-captain or libero – those three were the beauty-bride of the volleyball club. Compared to them Emiko felt she looked like a tomboy.

Hinata remained close to the girls, joining them conversation from time to times. He was happy that he had finally been accepted by Amaya. He couldn't wait to spend more time with her and get to know her more. Yet, he still stayed with the trio. After all those three were the first people who talked to him and accepted him into their group. He didn't want to be isolated again.

The four of them kept heading towards the main building, till Michiyo stopped unexpectedly. Emiko who was walking just behind her almost crashed on the orange-head. "Oi oi, don't go stopping all of a sudden." She scolded, only to see Michiyo's expression having glazed. Her face was pale and she was breathing heavily.

"Michiyo, are you alright?" Kazuko had to repeat her question twice, before Michiyo showed any signs of answering to them. The girl shook her head and then smiled widely. "No it's not. I was just imaging things." Michiyo's smile was so wide and reassuring, that no one dared to doubt her words.

She then sighed loudly. Really, to think that she would mistake someone for Kageyama. How she would've even thought about the possibility of him giving his button to any girl in the school. He hated women. He would never show any interest towards them, right?

"Speaking of which, today is the day the boys are giving out their second buttons." Emiko said all of a sudden, as if she had just realized. "If you guys would want to receive a button form someone, who would it be." Hinata laughed desperately. Here it started, the 'girl's talk'.

"Mine is obvious without saying anything." Michiyo told. There was only one person she would gladly receive the button from. But that person wasn't handing out it.

"Right. If it's me, I think I would like to receive button from Kunimi-senpai. He's emitting that mysterious person aura." Emiko's eyes started to shine all of a sudden. Hinata watched the girl with amazed look. So she was the type to show interest towards the silent and mysterious kind of types. How come she wasn't attracted to Tsukishima then? (Maybe because Tsukishima is not mysterious at all… a prankster, that's who he is…)

"Kageyama-chan how about you!?" Hinata was caught off guard of the sudden question and got pressured by the intense stared he received from Emiko and Michiyo. He couldn't take the stress and blurted out. "Tsukishima!"

Oh god why! Why he had to name the person he had last thought about. And of all people why it had to be that person? Now they thought he was interested in Tsukishima.

_Yamaguchi sorry!_

"I see. Well he is popular among us young ladies, now isn't he?" Emiko showed an approved look while nodding her head. Hinata wanted to slap his face, but knew that doing that kind out thing when surrounded by these rich people was out of question. So he bit his lip and cried manly tears inside his head.

"For me…" Kazuko kept a short pause to find the proper words. Her face got suddenly all red. "Hi-Hi-kigaya-senpai." She stuttered and then hid her face behind the sketchbook she was always carrying with her. Emiko and Michiyo looked so surprised. The former then ran to hug her friend. To think that Kazuko was such a pure maiden!

"Come to think of it. He's one of the most popular guys 'I want to receive the button from'." Michiyo told as she checked her phone and the site of their school. "In a fact, the three top boys are Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei and Hikigaya Takeru." She corrected her information and then put out her phone.

"I heard that the girls are especially after Kageyama, because that will increase their and their family's chances of being recognized by his family. That way the possibility of marrying into the family will also increase." Emiko added. She didn't understand what was so good about such man. Of course, she knew Michiyo's feelings and respected her feelings, but honestly Emiko saw nothing good in the self-centered and egoistic brat.

The only thing she did recognize in him, were his volleyball skills.

As a man she saw absolutely nothing in him.

Hinata was once again amazed by the fact that how popular Kageyama actually was. He knew that his reputation and ego was more than of a normal high school student, but to think he standing was so much bigger. What it was that people saw in him? His family name, the influence of his family name, or maybe the surname of his parents?

But of course, people were after the name and the influence and wealth that name would give them.

"To- Too bad for the girls, that guy isn't giving out his button to anyone." Michiyo finally spoke out, interrupting Hinata's flow of thoughts. Eh, was that a stutter he heard at the beginning of the sentence? Even though her voice and posture were so smug and almighty. The girl had crossed her arms and lifted her jaw up.

All of a sudden people around them started to whisper and their attention turned towards the second gym. "Eh? What's this uproar about?" Emiko wondered. Such racket would only mean that something serious had happened. And Emiko surely wanted to know what was happening.

And so, they ran towards the second gym as Emiko was dragging Hinata and Kazuko – the two who were mostly against the idea – with her. When they finally arrived at the scene, the saw the boys volleyball club as well as the girls volleyball club.

The third year senior and former ace of the volleyball club, Isoya Nobuyuki had approached the current captain of girls' volleyball club Akiyama Hotaru. The two of them had chatted for a while, but now the male was struggling with his second as he couldn't take it off.

Finally, he got it out and handed it to Hotaru, who smiled kindly with straight face. She did her best to remain sane, though. Otherwise she would be as red as old-good-wine. Hotaru had expected to receive the button due to their promise, but somehow it still felt embarrassing when it actually happened. She hadn't thought he would actually remember and keep his promise.

Isoya then joined his friends, like nothing had happened.

The clamor following this gesture was unfathomable. The 'Queen' had declared who his King really was. Isoya has showed to everyone who was the woman he was interested in. After this most of the girls would definitely back away from him, as it was no use to chase after taken man.

Emiko's jaw dropped. "EEEEEEH?"

* * *

Isoya's smirk was till his ears as he happily joined Kageyama and the rest of the gang. Kageyama on the other hand bit his lip, trying to say composed. He had lost the battle, Isoya had done the impossible and because of it now he had to approach that stupid wife of it.

"Now that I've done it, it's your turn Tobiocchi." The blonde smacked Kageyama's back and let out a laugh. He was clearly enjoying himself at the moment. Actually he was most likely the happiest he had been during the whole day.

The blonde spotted a familiar orange figure among the crowd and pointed towards the direction. "Lucky! You don't even have to search for your wife. She's right there." Isoya said. He then stared at Kageyama with the 'or are you a scared-y cat?' expression. The blonde was demanding for him to go. After all he had done the very same thing.

The raven gulped loudly. There was no backing off anymore. He had to go and give the second button or Isoya would tease him about this for the rest of his life. And he definitely wouldn't want it. The raven took a deep breath and then pulled out his second button - after a moment of struggle it finally came out.

Finally, after final glance at the blond - who waved his hand while wearing that idiot smile of his - he then finally headed towards Hinata, who was trying to recover Emiko from the shock. He and Michiyo where so concentrated on their friend that they didn't see Kageyama approaching them. They didn't even hear or take notice of the curious murmurs of the people surrounding them.

It was only when Kageyama was standing before him, Hinata finally felt his presence and noticed him. After all he would recognize that intimidating and dark aura anywhere. Slowly the orange-head looked up, only to realize that Kageyama was glaring at him. Out of startle, Hinata jumped up and backed off. Why was he here?

Cold sweat ran down his forehead. What had he done to anger the raven this way? Was this the end of his life? Had Kageyama realized he was a man? Did Natsu come to pick him up? **What?**

"He-Here." Kageyama murmured between his deep and heavy breaths and forced something into Hinata's arms. He then backed off, refusing to look at his wife. When the ginger opened his palm, he realized that it was a button. Hinata looked up and noticed that Kageyama's second button was missing.

So, was this the second button?

The moment Michiyo realized what was going on, her eyes started to water and she ran away from the scene. The very thing she hadn't wanted to happen happened. And moreover with the person she had been suspicious of, but tried to trust. Emiko and Kazuko followed closely after her. They didn't want to leave their friend it trouble.

"Finally I have witnessed it! Tobiocchi with the woman of his life." Isoya laughed loudly as the rest of the volleyball team joined Kageyama and Hinata surrounding the two of them. Tsukishima smirked while glancing at Kageyama. "The King has finally found his Queen."

"You know that I did this only because I was forced." Kageyama remarked, emitting an aura that he was ready to kill everyone that very moment. He was so furious, he wanted to smack something. He wanted to take off the stupid uniform and hit some balls to cool down his head. He wanted to play volleyball.

"But of course, because your head is full of Oikawa-san." Tsukishima's words faded into the air without ever receiving an answer. The only answer was a murderous stare from Kageyama. No one dared to move for a moment. They needed to have Kageyama calm down.

During this time, Hinata finally recovered from the shock. He looked around himself and when he realized the situation he was in he dashed out of the circle. He escaped from the scene not even saying anything.

When he was away from them for a distance that felt save, he turned back and stared at the group. No, his eyes were locked on the raven who was yelling at his friends, getting mad about their teasing. While he stared at the man who was supposed to be his husband, Hinata was sure of one thing.

This was the first time his heart had skipped a beat.


	17. Toss To Me!

**Monday Morning**

The sun peeked from the horizon when Tsukishima was about to finish his morning jog. It was the end of March and the air was still chilly so early in the morning, making Tsukishima's breathe visible as it evaporated into a small foggy cloud. It was the time for him to return back to this routine. He had missed this personal time he could use to sort out his mind.

By the time Kageyama household became visible to him, the blonde noticed that there had been a car parked near the gate. The car wasn't one those Kageyama or his wife used. Also, a person was standing next to the car facing towards the house. When Tsukishima approached the house and the car he realized who the person in question was.

"Good Morning." Tsukishima Akiteru greeted his younger brother while smiling brightly.

"Morning…" The second son answered, stopping just before the gate. "What are you doing here?" He asked while reaching out to open the gate. The glasses lad was surprised to fell something stuck into his fingers once he had touched the gate. He palped the substance with his fingertips and licked one of them. To his surprise he tasted salt.

A smirk appeared on his mouth. Kageyama might not seem like one, but he surely had weird habits (1).

Akiteru looked at his younger brother. "Kei. I beg you, please return back home. Father isn't angry at you anymore. You don't have to marry Futaba-chan either – she too refused the proposal. I'm sure you can make up once you're given the chance to talk things out." He begged Tsukishima.

The blonde had never seen his older brother so desperate. Akiteru wasn't the type to shine with overconfidence like a certain raven, but he was usually a very steady in mind. This was the first time Tsukishima had seen his brother acting erratic.

Even so, he had already made up his mind. "Akiteru-san, I'm not returning back to that house anymore. After all I am no longer a child of that man." The way he spoke to his brother was that of a stranger. Tsukishima took the last glance at his brother and opened the gate. At the same time the front door opened.

"Wait, Kei. I'm not finished talking yet…" He heard his brother yell after him. He closed his eyes and advanced forward without any hesitation in his expression. Tsukishima didn't dare to look behind. Right now he had to choose between past and future; his brother and Yamaguchi, who was waiting for him inside the house. Currently his resolution was firm, but he wasn't sure what would happen once he turned around.

His brother was the only person left as a memento of _him_. He was the only thing in the whole world that remained Tsukishima of his past; of the fact that people were fragile and even the strongest minds broke under pressure. Leaving his brother back also meant he had to say goodbye to him and that incident.

' _Aito, I'm sorry.'_

"Kei." Akiteru whispered.

"Oh, who's that?" An orange-bush wondered when he met Tsukishima at the doorway. It wasn't very often that they had unknown car parked before their gate. The latter glanced at Hinata, who apparently was heading towards practice, given the jersey and training bag.

"Just a passerby. I think he mistook me for someone else." The blonde explained, passing past the shorter guy. Hinata's eyes widened a little at the response. The two of them didn't seem to act like strangers towards each other. He was about to ask more questions but Tsukishima's cold scowl stopped him. "It's none of your business, shrimp."

"Stingy…" Hinata pouted disappointed, trying to act angry. "Miharu-san has prepared breakfast for everyone. Also there's a bentobox ready for you. Eat it when you're doing some apartment hunting with Yamaguchi-san." The orange-haired actually remembered using formal form when speaking about the whiskies. He had already started to get used to the thought that he was actually a first year girl and not a graduate boy.

"Yeah…" Tsukishima answered shortly as he entered the house and closed the door behind him.

* * *

**Tuesday Noon**

Hinata jumped up high and struck the ball with full force and it hit the floor on the other side of the net. It was the final point of the set and the whole match, giving his team a victory. The boy smiled happily of the point, and the fact that he was able to play volleyball once again. He stared at his palm with his eyes shining in excitement. It was so much fun!

"Everyone gather." Hotaru shouted, and everyone listened to their captain. Her leg had already healed and she was now able to participate in the training. Next to their captain stood another girl. She looked very shy and quiet and was glancing around her while trying to think what to do next.

"As you all know, today we're having a practice match against the boys' team." The captain spoke as soon as everyone had gathered. After that she glanced at the girl next to her and smiled. "But first let me introduce the newest member of our team." She told and smacked the girl, who was little taller than her.

The girl took few steps ahead out of the force and was now at the center of everyone's attention. This made her panic and she quickly looked around her while trying to find a way to escape from the situation. As there was none, she slowly looked down and hid her eyes beneath her bangs while her face was burning red.

"Hinata Sato. It's nice to meet you." She stuttered and bit her lip. She had taken hold of the hem of her shit and was pulling it down. Hinata was surprised to hear that there was someone with the same name as him. The only difference was, that this girl has it as her given name.

"Hinata-kun is little shy so please be extra careful when dealing with her, so that you won't scare her away. She plays as Wing Spiker and is also the younger sister of vice-captain." Hotaru explained and everyone's attention changed towards the raven soon-to-be-third-year. Kanon smiled so wide that her teeth were visible.

"No wonder she looked familiar." Emiko stated, being obviously interested in this new person.

"So vice-captain had a little sister. I didn't know." Kaoru kept nodding her head, while walking closer to the newbie. When the girl, who had raven hair just like her older sister, saw something in the field of her view she froze up completely.

"Didn't captain just say to be careful with her. You're obviously scaring her." Kaoru got pulled away from the newest member by Nobuko, who had her vein popping hard. Kaoru pouted hard for the blond girl spoiling her fun. Junko then came up with something funny and Kaoru quickly forgot her grumpiness.

The next second, the door of the gymnasium slid open and a head peeked in. "Can we come in?" The new captain of the boys' team asked. He had curly chopper-colored hair and matching eyes. At the sight of the boy, Kaoru's eyes brightened and she ran to him.

"Hiro-nii!" She jumped to embrace her cousin and spin around his neck few times. The boy, Suzuki Hiroshi, sweat dropped at Kaoru's actions. They had grown up together and even now were very close to each other. Maybe because she stuck so close to her, he still had no girlfriend… who knows. But that's a matter of completely another time.

"Oh, the boys are here. Do come in." Hotaru smiled happily. Once the boys were in, the teams gathered up, picked up their players and the match could start. It was fierce practice match and everyone did their best. The girls pulled even more power out than they usually did and the boys didn't spare any of their powers either. After all they were the next generation and had to live up to their senpai's name.

After a fierce five full set's both teams had finally used all of their powers. The victory went to the boys team with the total of three sets and the last set ending with 33-31. Both teams went to sides to drink some water that they managers had prepared for them.

"That was a good match!" Hotaru went to Suzuki and the two captains shook hands. The chopper-haired boy smiled at this. "I thank you for playing with us. I'm not really sure if we're able to do well in the Interhigh. Our senpai were so much stronger." He then sighed.

The brown-haired female stared at him with her eyes wide open. After that she smacked him hard on the back. "Oh come on, show some spirit captain!" Her expression softened a little. "You don't have to chase after the shadow of your seniors nor try to be as strong at them. Just do your best to improve and win as many matches as you can." Her teeth showing smile was dazzling.

Suzuki showed a weak smile. "Thanks, I'll try to do my best. Though, I still don't understand why I was chosen as the next captain. I'm not as strong as you are… or what Matsuura-senpai was. Yukimura would've been so much better choice."

Hotaru turned to look at the two teams who were chatting happily with each other while talking about volleyball and practice. Already now they were going over what they did wrong in the match and what they should've done to do better next time. "Don't underestimate the choice of your senpai. Matsuura-senpai saw in you something making you capable being a captain. Pull yourself together and do your job, captain!" Her grin reached till her ears.

The whole time Hinata had been trying to approach Emiko, but the girl had been avoiding him like a plague. This made the orange-head very worried, for he did not understand why she was acting so distant towards him all of a sudden. The ginger gulped loudly and tried once again talk to the girl.

"Emiko-kun…" He walked to the girl while she was filling more water to her bottle. This was a perfect chance as they were alone. Hinata did have a feeling that the matter was something private and Emiko wouldn't speak to him unless they were alone.

Upon hearing her name, Emiko's eyes glazed and she looked up. "Oh, Kageyama. What is it?" Her voice was cold and Hinata realized that she had even left out the friendly honorific. So something had really had happened. But what?

"Well… I wonder… Did I do something wrong?... You're somehow… distant?" It was hard to put his question into words, because he wasn't sure what he was supposed to ask. Emiko just stared blankly as Hinata struggled with his words.

"Now did you, I wonder… Expect for the fact you lied to us numerous times about not being related to Kageyama, I guess you did nothing wrong. You made Mi-chan cry and that's something I can't forgive you for." The girl kept a short pause. "I don't really have a grudge against you, and we can act normal during practices. But for the sake of Mi-chan, I think it's better if I kept my distance from you. She's my best friend, and I don't want to loose her."

With those words Emiko then walked past Hinata and joined the rest of the team. She didn't give him any time to explain himself or to even answer her. Just like that Emiko broke her ties with Hinata.

* * *

**Wednesday Afternoon**

Two figures stood on the platform waiting for the train to arrive. One of them had a big suitcase with him and was holding a ticked in his arms. The other one was wearing simple coat and scarf on him. The two boys stood silent as people rushed past them and in and out of the train.

"In the end, he did not come to the graduation ceremony." One of the boys finally broke the silence. The other one glanced at him with widened look. After that he sighed and hid his face underneath the scarf. "Yeah… Where has he gone to? This isn't like him at all, to disappear all of a sudden and not even inform us. Even his parents are never home…" He sounded worried.

Once again silence fell between the boys.

A train arrived and the doors opened, people rushing in and out of it. The boy with the suitcase moved a little bit. "This is my train," He told and glanced at his friend. The shorter boy smiled widely. He hugged his best friend and helped him enter the train.

"Be sure to do well in Tokyo. And don't forget to call me!" The spiky-head smiled while waving his arm as the doors closed. The taller boy waved back and then went to search for his seat. Once he had found an empty seat he took off his outer clothing and sat down.

Looking at the scenery drifting past him, his mind wandered into the world of that boy. His most beloved one, the one he still couldn't give up on. He wondered how that guy was going and where he was now. Deep inside he still felt bad, as he hadn't been able to apologize to him.

He had done something awful to his best friend and he needed to apologize. On that very moment the lad decided that he would beg for an apology the next time he saw his friend.

' _Shoyo, what are you doing?'_

* * *

**Thursday Dusk**

Hinata entered the house while huffing loudly. He had just finished volleyball practice and hurried home. Having skipped training for almost a whole month, he still hadn't gotten used to how intense it actually was. Somehow he felt that the training in Teikoku was even more intense than back in Karasuno.

"Welcome home Natsu-sama." Miharu greeted from the kitchen, not even taking her attention away from the dinner she was preparing. She knew the person coming home was Hinata, because everyone else was currently present.

"I'm home," the orange-bush huffed, taking off his shoes. He then walked to his room. Just as he was about to open the door, he heard some weird noises coming from the courtyard what entrance was just next to the stairs. There was voice of hand making a contact with something hard, then a quick step, jump and a smack.

Curious, Hinata had to know what was going on there. He quickly threw his training bag into his room and tiptoed near the staircase. When he saw what it was that made all those familiar noises, Hinata's expression brightened in excitement.

At that very moment, Kageyama was jumping towards the ball that came from the other side and smacking it down with all of his power. Tsukishima had jumped on the other side of the court and blocked Kageyama's spike. The two boys landed and Kageyama hissed while Tsukishima looked pleased.

"Can't win against me, King? How sad." He sneered, to anger Kageyama even more. The raven wiped away the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath. "The situation is only 27-30. I can still win." He answered calmly, which was unusual for him… maybe he was in good mood… for once.

The two boys were playing till one reached fifty points. They had agreed on this type of training in order to keep themselves in form till the university training started. The duo glanced at Yamaguchi who was holding a new ball in his arms and nodded. He was working as their assistant and ball boy. Miharu had also prepared drinks for them to keep them hydrated.

"I WANT TO PLAY!"

Just as Yamaguchi had thrown the ball a loud yell resonated in the courtyard. Everyone's concentration was interrupted and the university students missed their aim on the ball and it fell on the ground, bouncing away from them. They all turned towards the source of the voice.

"Oh, you're home." Disgust could be seen all over Kageyama's face. Well perfect, now his training had been interrupted and he had to deal with this freeloader. Tsukishima's expression remained the same as he kept quiet while Yamaguchi openly showed his surprise and confusion.

"I want to play with you. Toss to me!" Hinata repeated once again, waving his arm enthusiastically. He had changed back to his training uniform and come outside. They boy picked up a ball and held it in his arms.

Kageyama and Tsukishima glanced at each other. There was no way they were going to allow a girl train with them. Moreover, they battle was still going on; the winner hadn't been decided yet. After few head movements (as unspoken words) Kageyama turned to his wife. "No wa-"

"Why not!" Yamaguchi's excited voice interrupted his words. "We could play two-on-two if I join as well." He suggested, turning to his boyfriend for an agreement. His eyes had such bright shine in them that Tsukishima didn't dare to refuse. He hadn't seem Yamaguchi so happy since their arrive in the Kageyama household. He always seemed to be concerned about something and forced a smile on his face. But this smile was genuine.

"Yai!" Hinata celebrated jumping up and down while dashing around the courtyard.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue. "But I'll play with Tadashi."

For a moment Hinata's smile was wiped away. He stopped and turned to look at Kageyama. Really? He had to play with this egoistic-rich-bastard-son-monster-king. His smile did return as fast as it has disappeared. Who cared about that, he could play more volleyball. And this time with his peers, boys and two of them were part of the championship team.

Yamaguchi went quickly to change better clothes and put on shoes and knee pads. He then entered the same side of the court as Tsukishima and Hinata went to Kageyama's side. The blonde flashed a troubled look. "You sure your leg will be alright?"

The brunette smiled assuredly. "Don't worry, I can't participate in regular training anymore, but the doctor didn't say I couldn't play at all." He replied and continued. "But I will be careful not to put too much of a burden on it." He tried to convince his boyfriend.

Tsukishima didn't look very pleased, but he said nothing more. The two idiots on the other side were getting on his nerves, constantly yelling why he still hadn't started. And so the glasses threw the ball high in the air and hit it. The match started.

Hinata felt so great. The quartet went of tossing the ball to each other spiking, receiving, blocking and gaining points. Even after intense training he was still able to keep up with the current of the game. Of course he did many mistakes like missing the toss from his partner and was sometimes unable receive ball. He got often yelled by Kageyama, but every single time Hinata stood up back on his feet.

He had the chance to play volleyball and he didn't want to miss it.

He wanted to play volleyball!

He wanted to play more!

The ball went to Tsuki-Yama side and the blonde received it with no problem. Yamaguchi got the second touch and tossed it back to Tsukishima who was already approaching the net. Kageyama went for a block, but Tsukishima's spike had far too much force on it. The spike went past Kageyama's arms.

Hinata rushed to get the ball and managed to receive it with his shoulder. The ball popped up and Kageyama went for a toss. This was when he realized that Hinata was too far away. The orange-head had received the ball almost at the very end of the court, he wouldn't make it back in time. It was better if he faked the toss and hit the ball on his own.

Kageyama was already going with that when-

"TOSS TO ME!"

A small figure dashed past him and jumped high in the air. Without any second thought, Kageyama pulled out the toss and tossed the ball accurately to the spot Hinata was going to hit. The ball made contact with the gingers arm and smashed towards the floor. Everything happened so fast that the other duo had no time to react.

Hinata stared at his arm that was still burning red from the sensation before. A grin reaching till his ears filled his face. This was so much fun! This was the thing he had been yearning for all the years. This nostalgic sensation which he had almost forgotten…

But wait, how, _what_ , _**why**_?

Kageyama stared at the ginger with disbelieve written all over his face. After the yell his mind had gotten completely blank and he had returned to his old habit of tossing the ball to the exact place the spiker would hit. Usually people had trouble co-operating with his hit, and Isoya was the only one who agreed to hit one, but this girl had succeeded hitting it on her first try.

And somehow this all felt really nostalgic.

A blurry image flashed before him. A volleyball court, a volleyball, dark figure before him and something orange. Kageyama shook his head pulling himself back to reality. What the hell he was thinking during a moment like this? When playing volleyball he should only be thinking about defeating the opponent before him.

Kageyama wasn't the only person shocked off this sudden move the odd-ball duo had just pulled out. Yamaguchi gulped loudly while glancing at Tsukishima. "That just now. You saw it too?" He questioned, wondering if he was still sane. Tsukishima nodded his head not saying anything.

The match then continued. They kept on hitting, receiving and blocking training hard. The quartet managed to play four sets when Miharu came to the courtyard and announced that the dinner was ready. The score was two-two and while neither side wanted to end the match till victor was known, their stomachs didn't agree with them.

Unable to decide the winner, they went to stretch and cool down a little before going to enjoy their dinner.

"Next time we will surely win." Kageyama-Hinata duo announced proudly, declaring their rivalry.

"Even if I'm playing against the King, I'm not going to lose." Tsukishima smirked and Yamaguchi nodded his head.

Neither side was willing to lose.

* * *

**Friday Evening**

Tsukishima sighed loudly while entering his room. He was tired from all the training and scouting during the day. Even after weeks, they still hadn't found suitable apartment with Yamaguchi. How long they still had to freeload in the Kageyama household? He wanted some piece of mind; he wanted to get away from that place. He wanted to be alone with Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima threw his bag to bed and fell on it breathing out loudly. He covered his face with his arm. He was so tired of this all. Why on earth this was happening to him? Sometimes he had even thought of the fact of throwing up his pride and return back to his family's side. From sides it seemed as if he had strong mind, but even he did have doubts. He wasn't sure he could make Yamaguchi happy with this. Would it be better to return to his parents' side and talk everything through?

_**No.** _

There was only one thing which kept his mind from wandering back to the side of family.

That was Yamaguchi.

He did this all for Yamaguchi; Tsukishima was ready to throw away everything in order to make the brunette happy. Yamaguchi was his everything; he was the center of his world and he would gladly do anything to achieve mutual happiness.

And to do that, he needed to get away from his family.

Tsukishima's train of thoughts was interrupted when he heard his phone ringing all of a sudden. He stood up and headed towards the origin of his ringtone. He picked it up without any second thoughts, not even bothering to check who the caller was. "Kei speaking."

"Kei, Good day." The glasses froze up upon hearing his father speaking. How stupid of him, now he was stuck talking to this man. And just when he had made his resolve. He wanted to end everything with his family. He needed to do it in order to become happy with Yamaguchi.

"What do you want from me?" His tone showed no respect towards the man who was his father. The man on the other side of the line realized it too and answered. "Don't you talk to me like that! I'm calling you to tell that you still have your last chance to return home and I'll forgive every rudeness you showed towards me, your mother or Akiteru."

Tsukishima remained silent. The time had come.

"I told you already that I'm not going to return home. I love this man and I will remain by his side even if it means throwing away my family name and cutting all my ties. You're not going to stop me or my love. That's my resolve and I have nothing else to speak with you. Don't bother me anymore." He spoke and cut the phone call not waiting for his fathers answer.

Tsukishima sighed and threw the phone away. Finally, finally he had done it. He was now completely free from his parents and his family. He was independent and working on his own towards his dream to be together with Yamaguchi. He had completely thrown away his past.

The blonde heard some weird noise coming from behind him, and when he turned around he saw a sobbing brunette standing on the door way. His cheeks and eyes were red and a lake of tears was running by them. "Tsukki!" Yamaguchi cried and ran to hug Tsukishima.

Staring at the whiskies who had his head buried on Tsukishima's chest, the blonde couldn't hide his smile. He patted the trembling shorty and embraced Yamaguchi. "It's alright! I'm here by your side. I won't leave you. Ever. I love you." He whispered.

Slowly Yamaguchi stopped trembling and he looked up at Tsukishima. The glasses wiped his tears away with his finger and his face turned into small smile. Yamaguchi's eyes watered. "Tsukki!" He couldn't come up with anything else. His mouth refused to form any other words.

Tsukishima knew he had to protect this lovely figure crying in his arms. He had felt like that since their first meeting. The other had gone through so much, he had lost his parents at a young age and it took him years before he was finally brought into his current family who accepted him (and now he was taking him away from them). He just wanted Yamaguchi to be happy.

He loved the man called Yamaguchi Tadashi.

Tsukishima leaned down and pressed his lips against Yamaguchi and the two of them drifted into their own world of pleasures. They didn't even notice the passing by figure whose face slowly turned as red as his orange hair.

Ah, but orange is not red…

* * *

**First Of April**

She wanted to go home.

She wanted to throw her desk, start ruckus in the school and set it on fire. Anything and every opinion was possible. She just wanted something to happen that would take her away from there. Why was that person in the same class as her, and moreover, _seated_ next to her?

Aomine Amaya sat on seat of 2-A of advanced class and hissed loudly. Her mood was heavy and face darker than the shade of her blue-hair. Kageyama Natsu (as she knew Hinata) was sitting next to her, grinning widely while taking peeks at the blue-head. The worst thing was that the Queen trio was in different class, which meant that the orange-bush would approach her more often than before.

That was when a figure walked to the seat before Hinata and sat down. He was tall in height and had straight chopper-hair and large back. As soon as he was seated, the new classmate turned around and suddenly leaned towards Hinata's desk.

His eyes were bluish in color and he had two moles under his right eye. "Hello there, I'm Miyano Koya." He introduced himself while smiling widely. Hinata was surprised of the sudden approach. This guy seemed kind of weird. He knew this type of people, they were extremely popular and friendly with everyone. They were also the type two play around with girls.

"Kageyama Natsu." Hinata introduced himself as he couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Kageyama, huh?" Miyano then mumbled, and for a moment Hinata felt as if the guy was scheming something inside his head. Amaya, who could clearly hear what happening on the seat next to her narrowed her eyebrows. That guy reeked of trouble.

Miyano smiled, offering his hand to Hinata.

"Natsu-chan. Please go out with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some explanations about the chapter. Also the new girls and boys volleyball club members. 
> 
> 1\. Kageyama has learned few simple rituals to purify his house and has taught Miharu to sprinkle water and salt at their gate when she comes and leaves.
> 
> Here's little info about the current teams.
> 
> 1\. Setter - Akiyama Hotaru - Captain - 3rd Year - 165cm  
> 2\. Wing Spiker - Sato Hinata - 1st Year - 166,5cm  
> 3\. Wing Spiker - Suzuki Kaoru - 2nd Year - 155cm  
> 4\. Libero - Isoya Nobuko - 3rd Year - 181,2cm  
> 5\. Wing Spiker - Kaion Emiko - 2nd Year - 171,7cm  
> 6\. Wing Spiker - Minami Junko - 2nd Year - 159,3cm  
> 7\. Setter - Watanabe Manami - 1st Year - 162cm  
> 8\. Middle Blocker - Yamana Ren - 1st Year - 160cm  
> 9\. Middle Blocker - Hinata Shoyo/Kageyama Natsu - 2nd Year - 165,2cm  
> 10\. Middle Blocker - Sato Kanon - Vice-Captain - 3rd Year - 167,8cm
> 
> And boys team!
> 
> 1\. Middle Blocker - Suzuki Hiroshi - Captain - 3rd Year - 183cm  
> 2\. Wing Spiker - Tsukino Seki - 3 Year - 177,3cm  
> 3\. Libero - Wakahisa Yukiko - 2nd Year - 170,8cm  
> 4\. Setter - Yukimura Kazuki - Vice-Captain - 3rd Year - 174,8cm  
> 5\. Wing Spiker - Ootani Takato - 2nd Year - 178,2cm  
> 6\. Middle Blocker - Kanzaki Takao - 2nd Year - 175,2cm  
> 7\. Setter - Iijima Hideaki - 1st Year - 174,7cm  
> 8\. Wing Spiker - Kohori Hiroshi - 3rd Year - 169,7cm  
> 9\. Middle Blocker - Nakahara Masahiro - 1st Year - 184cm


	18. Moon Is In The Center Of Attention

"So have you made up your mind yet? Will you go out with me?" An enthusiastic voice spoke as Miyano approached Hinata who had just arrived at the school gates. Great, once again he had to have this conversation as the first thing in the morning. The orange-bush sighed.

"No, I will not. I have someone I like." He lied, trying to chase Miyano away from him. It was no luck though, just like in previous times words weren't enough to convince him to stop. That's why even after a week Miyano was still chasing after Hinata and asking him to become his girlfriend. When would that man finally stop?

"Oh, you mean Kageyama-senpai. I heard you received his second button." The taller man asked blunt and this made Hinata's eyes to glaze. His mind blanked out completely as the images of that day filled his mind. That feeling, he was still unable to forget it. Slowly his face started to boil.

Miyano looked troubled. "You're quite honest with your feelings. I was only teasing you a little bit." He then laughed, messing with Hinata's hair. It was a habit he had, and he especially loved to do it to Hinata. This made the orange-bush to return back to reality. Miyano grinned. "But if you're only crushing it means I still have a chance. I will surely steal you away before you confess your feelings to him."

Hinata's face was filled with anger. "Like I said, I DON'T LIKE KAGEYAMA-"

Being so focused on Miyano, Hinata forgot to look ahead and dumped accidentally on someone. "I'm sorry-". He said without any second thought, not even confirming who the person was. Only after that Hinata looked at them, and his eyes widened in shock. Out of all the people in the school it just had to be them.

Their emerald eyes pierced right through Hinata. He was sure that it looks could kill he would be dead by now. They showed no mercy, such an enraged expression. But at the same time they looked so hurt, so sad and betrayed. The bags under their eyes were visible even if they had tried to apply make-up over it and their eyes were red.

Where had those beautiful emerald eyes disappeared to? Where was the confidence and self-esteem this person once had in them? Hinata couldn't believe they were actually the same person. He couldn't believe the person in front of him was someone who had once called him a friend.

The duo stared at each other, neither of them speaking. Some students around them had stopped to check on the situation and were whispering around. But Hinata couldn't even hear them less alone notice them. The deathful atmosphere between them was so pressuring he had no time to think of something else. The person's aura was so swallowing Hinata had to do his very best no stand up against it.

"Michiyo, let's go."

Those words broke the ice between them. Michiyo turned around without any words and followed Kazuko, who had been calling for her. Hinata sighed out relief when the pressure was gone and watched Michiyo joining her friend as they started to head towards the shoe lockers. His eyes accidentally met up with Kazuko's and the girl slowly nodded her head as a greeting, to which Hinata did the same. Michiyo obviously asked something, as Kazuko then shook her head and turned away from Hinata.

"Whoa, that was intense." His words made Hinata realize that Miyano was still standing right next to him. The taller guy then looked at the girl he was pursuing. "To think you would receive the previous King's second button and are the target of the current Queen's negative attention. You're interesting, Natsu-chan. I want you even more now!" He exclaimed laughing loudly.

"I do not recall giving you permission to call me by first name." Hinata continued on having the cold attitude towards Miyano, just like he had learned in Saeko's lessons. Men usually backed off when you acted cold towards them, but Miyano surely was one of a persistent guy.

"Oh come on, don't be so harsh on me." He begged, obviously wearing a grin on his face. Hinata was at loss what to do with him anymore to shake him away, but then his eyes caught something blue. He had to blink few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. After all that girl hadn't come to school since the first day of the school.

Messy hair on unusual blue color, big and round glasses peeking out beneath curly bangs, over-sides and wrinkled blazer with dirty track trousers. It couldn't be anyone but her.

Hinata's expression brightened and he dashed off, forgetting all about Miyano. The poor boy was left on the front yard, all alone.

Hinata had waited to speak with her, he had wanted to see her again. "Amaya." He was so happy to see his friend again.

The said girl stopped upon hearing her name and turned her head at Hinata. Her eyes had bag under them and she looked like she hadn't been able to sleep well for day. Her skin tone was pale and she looked even weaker than usually.

"I ain't given you the right to call me that." She blurted out, refusing to look at Hinata.

The orange-bush stopped and sweat dropped.

Yeah, maybe he needed to work on that 'friend' part just a little longer.

* * *

"Aaah! We've gotten through five apartments today and still no luck!" Hinata complained. He was exhausted from all the walking and barely had a soul living in him anymore. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had planned on doing some apartment hunting as they were both free and Hinata joined them on the hunt. The gang had gotten through multiple apartments, but only the last apartment had caught their interest. But even that apartment was no good; the rent was too high.

"The last apartment was good, but there's no way we're able to pay the rent only with Yamaguchi's income." Tsukishima stated with clear face. Hinata was actually surprised of the fact that he had liked the apartment. The glasses guy hadn't show any particular interest in it. More precisely, his expression hadn't even budged at all the time they were there. Due to that reason the orange-bush wasn't even sure if he had actually liked it at all.

"I really liked it too. If only Tsukki can find a job, then we could have it." Yamaguchi let out a sigh. Tsukishima flashed him a troubled expression (or at least as troubled as he can get). Yamaguchi remembered the conversation between Tsukishima and his father and immediately started to ensure his boyfriend that everything was alright. "No, no. It's not like I was really that found of the apartment. I just thought that it would be good if Tsukki could also earn money for living."

Tsukishima's expression remained blank. He knew very well that all the places he was familiar with had declined his application because of his fathers influence. Currently he was doing some searching to find a good job, but at the time he hadn't found anything good. There was nothing he was really interested to do.

"If you really insist, I might be able to help you guys financially the first few months before you find a job." Kageyama suddenly spoke. He had been so quiet the whole time that Hinata almost forgot that the raven was actually with them.

There was no way Kageyama wanted to be doing something so petty like apartment hunt, but Miharu had insisted that he should be with Hinata. After all a good husband should never leave his wife wander around on her own. That all, even when Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were with him.

Throughout the years Kageyama had learned one important thing: Never go up against Miharu.

And so, he had no other choice but to stick with the group of commoners, because of his annoying wife who had wanted to accompany the other two. Tsukishima glanced at the raven with dark look and upon seeing Kageyama's smug expression his face turned into dark glare.

"There's no way I'll ask any more help from the King. I don't want to be in debt to you any more than I already am…" The glasses guy stated. And so started a staring contest between the King and his closest commoner (as Tsukishima would probably said it). Finally the raven closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Your debt is already so big, you'll never be able to pay it back. It doesn't hurt you to take a little more of it." He told to Tsukishima, which made the latter to glare at him. No matter how mean he sounded, in Hinata's eyes Kageyama looked like he was truly willing to help the two in their needs. For the first time in forever it looked as if that mean bastard had actually a helpful heart.

"No. I want to live on our own. I don't want to bother Kageyama anymore." Yamaguchi joined the conversation all of a sudden, stating his opinion. The other trio was so surprised of this sudden offence, that they didn't know what to say. After all Yamaguchi had almost never acted this way.

Kageyama was the first one to recover. "Whatever you say then. You could've gotten the apartment of your dreams… well, it's not like I care." He shrugged.

Yamaguchi looked like he was thinking of what to say for a while. Finally he turned to Tsukishima and took hold of his arm. "I don't mind what kind of apartment we get. As long as I can live with Tsukki, I'll be happy. That's more than enough for me." He then confessed boldly.

Hinata was amazed how someone could be so straightforward of their feelings. He really admired Tsukishima and Yamaguchi who openly showed their feelings towards each other (even if that made Hinata blush almost every single time). Their situation wasn't the most typical one and the orange-bush was sure that people felt disgusted once they would find about them. Still neither was tried to hide it from others.

The openness of the two freeloaders made Hinata want to fall in love as well. He wanted to know what it was to declare your love to someone and how it felt to be loved by someone. After watching the two love birds for so long, for the first time he actually wanted to fall in love with someone. He hoped that he would soon meet the woman of his dreams; his soulmate.

At the thought of that, Hinata's stomach growled loudly making everyone to turn at him. The boy blushed as red as tomato and laughed nervously while massaging the back of his head. The guys sighed (Kageyama rolled his eyes 'how typical of a wild woman') and Yamaguchi looked at the other two.

"Maybe we should grab something to eat?" Yamaguchi suggested.

"Yeah…" Tsukishima and Kageyama agreed.

The gang headed towards a hotel and restaurant, where Kageyama had reserved a table for four earlier that they. He had had the hunch they would be eating outside and done the needed after Miharu's suggestion. The main reason for that was because he didn't want to eat in some kind of third-rated place. If he was going to eat, he was going to eat good food.

And so they all sat down and ordered their foods. Kageyama told that the dinner was on him so they could order whatever they wanted. Hinata was at loss what to do or order because he had never been in such fancy restaurant. Or maybe once, back when his fathers' company had won an important costumer back. His parents weren't often home, so he had never went to eat outside.

Yamaguchi noticed Hinata's discomfort and moved closer to him to help the guy choose. In the end, after going through all the meals, Hinata decided to go with the same as the freckles. Tsukishima watched his boyfriend and the first year girl chatting and the ends of his mouth moved up just a little.

It had been a long time since he had seen Yamaguchi so happy and interacting with someone else but him. The brunette wasn't really good with making friends and he had the tendency to stay aback. This is why he was more than glad that Yamaguchi had become so close with Hinata. (Not that he would ever tell it).

The gang enjoyed their meal and once stuffed, Kageyama paid the bill. After that they headed down and home. After all they had already finished all the apartments for the day so they had no more business in the town. Kageyama was about to call his driver to pick them up, when suddenly an unknown man approached Tsukishima.

"Ah, excuse me. I'm Sakamoto Masaki a manager at Kumo agency." The man introduced himself while handling out his business card. After that he continued. "We're currently doing a photo shooting where we pick up people from the streets to model for us. Your height and appearance caught my interested and I wonder if you would like to model for us." The manager asked, bowing down deep.

"EH?" Hinata voiced out his surprise as everyone's eyes widened of the unexpected suggestion. This hadn't been in their plans and they had never even thought that someone would approach them and ask such unbelievable thing. Do even normal people do such things? (Do not forget they are people of the higher class… or at least some are…).

"Me?" Tsukishima asked in disbelieve. Why did someone want him to model for them? Where they out of their mind.

"Yes, you. I would really like to have you to model for us!" The manager got excited when he finally heard the man in question speaking. After all he had been searching for person of his liking so long and after finding him he couldn't have him leave. There were so few men who actually agreed to model for them and for this photo shooting they really needed suitable men.

"Well…" Tsukishima glanced at Yamaguchi. Kageyama had already called the driver and they were all tired from the hunting. He couldn't possibly ask to stay in the town for any long. He too wanted to get home as soon as possible. More importantly, he didn't want to burden Yamaguchi. "I really don't…"

Yamaguchi smiled at Tsukishima, interrupting him. "Why not. That sounds so awesome! I kinda want to see Tsukki modelling." The brunette admitted, blushing at the thought of it.

"Well. Okay." Once he had gotten Yamaguchi's approving, there was no reason for him to refuse the guy. Also if Yamaguchi wanted to see him, then he had even less reasons to decline the offer. And so Tsukishima had caught the bait.

"Oh really! Thank you so much!" The man kept thanking Tsukishima nonstop. He told the gang to follow him and took them to the photo shooting area. It was an outdoor shooting and currently they had a couple standing in front of the camera while the camera man kept shouting them instructions and taking photos of them.

Hinata's eyes sparkled when he saw just what the area held in it. To think that they had the chance to participate in something like this. The manager passed through the photo shooting area and went to a small, where a dark brown-haired woman was waiting sitting around a table drinking tea.

"I found our next model!" The man in his early thirties told. He was around Yamaguchi's height with great posture. His hair was short and black in color and he was also wearing glasses and suit. Truly like a business man.

The dark-brown haired woman who was as tall as Hinata glanced at Tsukishima and her expression turned into smirk. "Oh, what a fine man you have found. Not bad, Sakamoto. I'm Yuki Yuki, come with me. I'll style you." The stylist told while playing around with her curly middle back length hair. Her green eyes looked playful as if they had found their next target.  **(1)**

Not saying anything, Tsukishima followed the woman to the van, where she was to style him for the upcoming photo shoot. The manager approached Hinata's gang. "While you're waiting for your friend, please do have some tea." He told and directed them towards the table.

Sakamoto poured tea for his quests and the gang watched as the couple was still being shot. Hinata's eyes gleamed and he looked as if he really wanted to be there. Kageyama looked rather annoyed and it was obvious that he wanted to return home as fast as possible. His body itched. He wanted to play volleyball. Yamaguchi looked nervous and shot glances at the van, wondering when Tsukishima would finally be ready. He wanted to see his boyfriend being styled up as soon as possible.

Finally the door of the van opened and Tsukishima walked outside. Yamaguchi burst out his tea, almost choking on it. He couldn't believe the sight before him. His boyfriend looked so cool! In many ways he looked perfect.

Tsukishima had his messy hair being combed back neatly so that it wouldn't cover his face. This made the most important factor of his looks visible. Also the boy was now wearing a completely white morning dress along with light brown leather lace up shoes.

The boy looked bothered by the outfit, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. After all he had gotten used to wear such formal clothing to parties and such. Yuki smiled proudly. "How do you like it? The image is 'dancing of white dream.'"

Hinata's eyes started to shine brightly when he saw the blonde walking towards them. "WHOA! That's like BTOOM and BAAM!" He told, jumping around.

"Speak our language, shrimp." The glasses shot a dark glare at the ginger. Man that girl could be so weird from time to times. Where on earth Kageyama had found such wife for himself. And why on earth he even agreed to marry her. He just couldn't understand it.

Yamaguchi walked to Tsukishima and smiled at him. "You look awesome."

"Thanks." Was a short reply from his boyfriend before he got called by the camera-man. And so the photo shooting started. The man behind the camera gave Tsukishima advices what to do and how to move and the male listened to his instructions.

"Wow, you're doing a great job. I can't believe this is really your first time modelling." The man then told as he watched the photographs he had just taken. Everyone was surprised how well the blonde managed to for his first try. He was perfect, almost like a professional model.

There was a short pause to change the setting a little bit. Once everything was in their places everyone get to their places. The camera-man stared at Tsukishima and the setting, rubbing his beard. "I think there's something missing… we need a partner for you." He murmured and looked around himself. It was then when his eyes met Hinata and the gang.

"You!" He pointed at Hinata. "You'll become his partner. Yuki, style her up." The man told and Yuki was already taking Hinata to the van when Tsukishima suddenly left his place. "What are you…" The question wasn't completed as Tsukishima already took hold of Yamaguchi.

"Sorry but I won't accept anyone else but him as my partner." He declared. Yamaguchi's face turned hot red as he was unable to hide his embarrassment. He knew Tsukishima was bolt but to this extend. The photo shooting area fell into silence.

Finally Yuki approached Yamaguchi. "Well you have beautiful and petite face, I'll use some magic to make you a girl." She was more than happy to take up the challenge. Her expression told that she was very excited. Yamaguchi gulped a little at her expression; he wasn't sure if he would survive the styling if it was done by her.

"Oh, you can style the other two as well. They'll made a good second couple… even if the girl is a bit short." Hinata wasn't sure if he should get offended by the words targeted at him. He knew that he was short when it came to being a boy, but to think that even as a girl he was out of the regular height. And this was when he completely forgot that is it preferred for models to be tall.

And so all the trio got styled up and the group took photos of them. Hinata messed up almost all the time and he couldn't keep up with the instructions what made almost everyone angry at him. Finally everything calmed down when Kageyama took hold of him and lead the way. (Who thought the raven could do a modelling job?).

When the photo shoot was finally over, the gang changed to back to their original clothes. One of the camera staff came to them and gave them a picture of the four of them. It was their most successful photo and it was given to them as a present and memory of their first photo shooting.

Finally the manager approached Tsukishima thanking him once again. "You did a great job, thank you so much for agreeing to participate." He also thanked the other three for joining the photo shooting without any warnings. After that he turned to Tsukishima. "I would like to ask you to come and work for us." He then told, handling out his business card once again.

WHAT? There had been so many surprising events in the day that the guys didn't know how to react anymore. But really, a job request? After all the failing tries (because of his father) finally had finally received a job request. And more over it was a job that had no connection to his family. A job where he could he himself, just the normal Tsukishima Kei.

"I…" the blonde still remained doubtful. Yamaguchi grabbed hold of his arm and nodded while smiling at Tsukishima. "I would really like to work with you." Tsukishima bowed deep, accepting the request of Sakamoto. Oh, so he actually could act respectful towards someone, than dark moon… Kageyama thought as he dialed his drivers' number.

"Whoa! Tsukishima has found a job! This means that you can rent the apartment as well!" Hinata celebrated and hugged Yamaguchi. The brunette glanced at his boyfriend and smiled widely.

So, it was like killing two birds with one stone, eh?

* * *

"I already told you that I'm not interested in you! Leave me alone!" Hinata yelled loudly as he ran through the hallway trying to shake off an annoying pest who had been following him the whole day. Oh, how he had started to hate this man.

"Aw come on Natsu-chan no need to be so shy." Miyano smiled, obviously being able to keep with Hinata for his longer legs. "I know you'll fall in love with me in no time." Where did all that confidence come from? Moreover, couldn't he set his eyes on someone else? Why it had to be him?

"Haha. That ain't gonna happen." Hinata didn't even have the strength to laugh at that joke. He saw then Amaya come out from the library and walked towards her, grabbing her arm. After all it was her whom he was meeting up with. "Now if you excuse me. We're going to eat lunch. Without you."

"Miyano Koya." Hinata suddenly heard their homeroom teacher speaking. She was a tall woman in her late twenties with long blonde-hair. She was also the chemistry teacher and often wore a long white coat. At the moment she was carrying two big boxes. "Help me to take these to the chemistry class."

"Aww… Bummer." Miyano pouted hard. "See ya later, Natsu-chan. Duty is calling for me." He told Hinata grabbed hold on one of the boxes. The teacher winked at Hinata, and he couldn't help but to smile. Thankfully the teacher had realized that Miyano was bothering him.

"Man that guy sure is annoying." Amaya stated as they watched Miyano leaving with the teacher.

"You don't say."

After those words, the duo headed down stairs. Hinata had found a good and peaceful place in the inner court for lunch time. He wanted to show this place to Amaya and had suggested that they should eat lunch outside. It was already April and the cherryblossoms where blooming. It was the perfect time for outdoor lunch.

"Really, I need to think of something to get that guys out of the picture." Hinata sighed when sitting down. He then opened his lunchbox that he had prepared for himself in the morning. Amaya on the other side had bought some bread from the cafeteria.

Miyano had really become like a stalker. He followed Hinata everywhere. He would most likely follow him all the way home if only the boy wasn't going by car and he by foot. Apparently he lived very close to the school so he didn't need to take the car.

"Yeah. He's the worst of the worst. I can't stand him at all." Amaya voiced out her inner thoughts. She hadn't liked him from the first time she had heard him speaking and after that her image of him had only gotten worse. He was such a bother.

Being so angry, Amaya got careless and her can fell down. Thankfully she hadn't opened it yet so nothing spilled from it. The girl reached towards it to pick it up. Her sleeve got up a little and Hinata noticed a small bruise on her arm. Unconsciously he reached towards it and grabbed a hold of her hand.

"What is it?" He asked curious of the bruise. Without any second thought or even asking the girl, he pulled up her sleeve. Beneath it appeared an arm with several bruises on it. Hinata's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't let of her. His eyes moved from her arm to her face.

Amaya looked terrified. Her body had started to tremble and she was breathing heavily. Hinata saw as her eyes started to water. Amaya lowed her face. "Please, let go…" she begged beneath her breaths. "Don… urt.. e." Hinata couldn't catch what she was saying.

"Aomine-san, was is this? Where did you get this?" He kept his face straight and continued questioning. He was getting worried. After all those bruises weren't something to joke about. Some of them looked old, but clearly few of them were fresh, made no more than few days ago.

"Plea… et… g… on't… ouch... m... don… hu… me…" She begged, barely being able to speak. Her eyes got redden and she slowly started to fall down as if all of her powers got stuck. She curled into small ball, trembling like a little cub.

"Aomine-san! I want to help you. Tell me what's wrong." Hinata's concern grew with very second. Amaya was clearly acting strange, but it seemed as if she had reached the state of mind there she could no longer hear him.

"Stop. Please let go…!" Amaya used all of her remaining powers for that last cry. Hinata finally realized to let go of her, and slowly but surely Amaya calmed down and returned back to her old self. The trembling stopped, but still she remained in the ball form embracing her legs.

There was a silence between the couple, and neither one dared to break it. Hinata kept staring at Amaya. When he thought she had had enough time to recover, he finally broke the ice. "So, what's wrong?" It was clear from his tone that he was genuinely worried.

Amaya was still for a moment, but then shrugged while standing up. "Nothing really. A side effect from gaming. I don't really want people to touch my hands. After all they're my precious source of money." She told, essentially not a lie but also not the whole truth.

"What do you mean?"

Amaya glanced at Hinata, finally being able to sit down. "Ah… well. I'm a national ranked player. I kind of earn my money through games. That's why I don't want you or any other people to touch my arms. I don't want to injure them.

A silence filled the air. It took a while for Hinata to completely process her words. So she was a gamer, a player with a national ranking. Whoa, that was awesome. But still, that didn't explain all the bruises in her arms.

"How come your-"

"But really you should do something about that Miyano. He's an annoying pest." Amaya interrupted Hinata in hopes of changing the topic. Disgust was written all over her face. It was clear that she didn't like the boy.

"Yeah. I feel sick whenever he approaches me. It's very disturbing." Hinata admitted, going along with Amaya. He wasn't really in the mood to change the topic all of a sudden, but he thought it would be better not to push Amaya too much. She would surely run away from him. But this didn't change the fact that he was worried about her.

"Why? Because you have a thing for girls?" Amaya wondered, remember how he had stalked her for almost a week in their first year. Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

"NO! I don't swing that way." He panicked, trying to come up with something to say. The boy then quieted down and looked away from Amaya. "I'll tell you. But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else."

Amaya was surprised how serious everything got all of a sudden. "Is there really anyone I could tell this secret of yours..." Amaya stated, reminding Hinata of the fact that she didn't really have any friends. The boy stared at her with blank expression.

After that he looked down staring at the ground. He had been warned not to tell about this to anyone, but somehow it felt wrong to keep it a secret from Amaya. Also if he wanted to gain her trust so that she would tell what's on her mind, he should fell reveal her all of his secrets. He felt kind of sorry for Saeko and Kiyoko, but he just had to do it.

"I'm… well… I'm actually a boy." Hinata revealed his biggest secret, he had been able to keep for little over a month. Amaya's expression remained blank. The sudden news made her unable to react. She wasn't sure what she had just heard.

A chuckle was heard. "Yeah right. From a lesbian to a man, what a nice lie." Amaya then told, being able to believe Hinata's words. The orange-bush stood up from and grabbed Amaya's arms. "It is the truth! TRY!" He pushed Amaya's arm through his opened uniform and shit to his chest.

Her arm was now beneath his bra. Hinata made sure to let of her arm, so that she wouldn't get another attack. Amaya's eyes widened as her hand didn't meet with the round and bouncy sensation it would when touching woman's breast.

"There's nothing…" She looked up to Hinata and took her arm away.

"See. I am a boy." Hinata told, finally being able to convince Amaya to believe him.

The girl looked blank, but then spoke. "Oh, so that's why you approached me. You're interested in me BECAUSE you ARE a BOY!" She finally got it. Kageyama Natsu wasn't interested in girls because she swung that way, she was interested in them because she was a boy.

"Don't change the topic! I approached you because you had the same kind of aura as me." Hinata admitted. Amaya looked at him. "The same kind of aura?" She questioned him with straight face.

"Ah no. It's nothing, really." Hinata laughed desperately. Amaya narrowed her eyes brows, looking suspicious but she decided not to say anything about that. Instead she was curious about how Hinata ended in the position he currently is – a girl. The orange-bush had no choice but to explain his situation to her; the marriage, death of his sister, training with Saeko and Kiyoko, his conditions.

"You've been through a lot of trouble and now even the stalker." Amaya sighed, bringing up Miyano once again. For a minute her expression turned serious as if she was thinking of something. "I think you really need someone's help to get ride off Miyano." She smirked. "And I think I know just the right person."

Hinata's eyes widened. Excited he asked from the girl. "Who? Tell me!"

Amaya's face had a dark smirk on her face, which made her look very scary. It was as if she was going insane. Finally, with the most evil tone she had Amaya spoke the name of Hinata's savior.

"Kageyama Tobio."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. No I did no mistakes with writing "Yuki Yuki". The thing is, the stylist full name was Akiyama Yuki before her marriage. Her husband names is Yuki Matsuo and thus when she took his surname she became Yuki Yuki sharing her given name and surname.


	19. Raging Battle! Calm Before A Storm?

Two weeks had passed.

Two hellish weeks had passed since Amaya's suggestion to ask help from Kageyama, and Hinata was still stuck at phase one. Partly reason for that was because the raven had been absent for a whole week. Even after all the time Miyano was still persistent and didn't give Hinata any air to breath.

The ginger shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head. No matter how urgent the matter was, currently something more important was happening and he should give all his attention to it. He then looked at the two person before him and near the entrance and approached the shorter one.

Yamaguchi smiled upon seeing Hinata and then hugged him. "Do come and visit us sometime. I would be more than happy to have you as our guest and chat with you. You are welcomed to us at any time." The freckles told, finally let go of Hinata.

Yes. It was the day Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were finally moving to their own apartment. The couple had received their keys the other day and decided the faster they moved in the better. Much like the raven they had been away for almost a week – a trip to hor springs, apparently – and returned back earlier the day before. That was also when they had received the news about their apartment being free.

"I will. I will surely come and pay you guys a visit." Hinata answered to the brunette with an equally wide smile. "Of course, you are welcomed to come here anytime you want as well." He then continued, inviting Yamaguchi and Tsukishima to visit them as well.

He heard a growl from behind him. "Oi don't go casually inviting people without my approval." Hinata's eyes narrowed and shot an angry glare at Kageyama, who was standing his arms crossed and with his typical scowl on his face. The ginger wanted to put out his tongue, but decided not to. He didn't want to start another scene and agitate the raven any more than he already was.

Yamaguchi smiled and thanked Hinata for the invite, adding that they would surely pay a visit once they had settled down. The ginger couldn't stop the ends of his mouth from turning upward.

Yet, the sudden change in his surroundings had stirred up mixed feelings inside his small head. He was happy for the two that they could finally live on their own, but on the other hand he felt sad. He had just gotten used to the lively household of other four always being present beside him, but now two of them were leaving. And just when he had finally gotten close with Yamaguchi.

He felt empty to have two people teared away from his daily life. But still he had decided to keep on a smiling face. That was the least he could do for Yamaguchi who was so excited. Seeing the brunette also made Hinata happy.

After the two had chatted for a while, Yamaguchi then went to say his thanks to Miharu, who had taken care of them the whole time, and of course Kageyama, who had allowed them into the household. Hinata watched him going with a smile on his face.

It was only then, when he felt another presence approaching him. Hinata almost jumped up from startle when he saw Tsukishima suddenly standing next to him. He shyly glanced at the tall blonde who had finally grown past the 190cm line and gulped down. He really liked Yamaguchi, but Tsukishima always felt so scary. In many ways he was even scarier than Kageyama.

"I wasn't planning on saying this, but Tadashi has really taking like of you, so let me give you one warning." The blonde suddenly spoke, making Hinata to turn into stone. "Don't fall in love with the King. He already has a strong presence around him, which makes him blind to all other people." Tsukishima then continued, making Hinata look at him with confused eyes.

"In the end, you'll only hurt yourself. And that would make Tadashi sad." The blond kept a pause. "If you make Tadashi cry, I'll kill you."

After those words Tsukishima joined Yamaguchi giving his regards to Miharu. Hinata was left alone near the entrance with dumbfounded expression on his face.

He didn't get why Tsukishima was warning him about Kageyama? Why was he suddenly bringing up the raven and love in the same sentence. He didn't make any sense. After all Hinata wasn't in love with Kageyama.

Right.

Right?

_Right…?_

* * *

"Natsu-chan!" Came the cry which make Hinata want to puke. It was lunch time and Amaya was once again absent. This meant the ginger had to face his nemesis on his own. The boy sighed while picking up his speed to get rid of the copper-head.

"For god's sake leave me alone! I already have a boyfriend!" He yelled desperate, coming up with the last and worst conclusion he could come up with. After all, for all this time he had only been telling that there was someone he liked. And now he had a boyfriend? Exactly when did that happen?

Hinata wasn't the only one who realized his mistake.

"Eh, but I thought you were only  _crushing on_  Kageyama Tobio. When did you two suddenly get to the stage of dating? … I don't want to believe your words till I see him with my own two eyes." The copper-head told which made Hinata to curse inside his head. That guy was really paying attention to  _every single_  little word he said.

Also, since when Hinata had told he was crushing on Kageyama? He only said (lied) that he had crush on someone, so why Miyano had reached the conclusion it had to be the raven? First Tsukishima and now even Miyano… why on earth the people around him were thinking he held any feelings towards his supposed-husband?

_HE WAS STRAIGHT!_

(And someday in the future Hinata would regret having those thoughts…

\- just kidding).

"Fine! I'll bring my boyfriend to school tomorrow." The orange-bush finally snapped. Somewhere in his vision he saw Miyano dumping into someone by accident and his advance stopped all of a sudden. The orange-bush decided not to let this chance slip away. He turned around in the nearest corner and shut himself into the first room that came across him.

Being finally inside and away from Miyano's radar Hinata felt his tension abating. Still he shouldn't let loose too early. The ginger stood quiet near the door, listening if the other boy would come that way. Once it seemed that he had finally lost the guy, Hinata sighed of relief.

That lasted for a second, though, as he soon realized his last words. Hinata gulped down loudly.

Shit.

What had he done?

He had driven himself into a corner. He had told Miyano he would be bringing his boyfriend to school the next day. This meant he needed someone to act as his boyfriend. The only boys he was familiar with, were Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. The blonde would never agree with the idea and he wouldn't let Yamaguchi get messed up into it as well.

The one and only opinion he had was Kageyama.

Hinata groaned loudly while sliding down the door. He wanted to cry. His whole life was a mess. He wanted to die and meet Natsu. He wanted to see his younger sister. She would surely come up with the best conclusion to this fucked up life.

It was only then, that the young lad in distress finally felt the presence of another person. He looked straight ahead of him and saw a girl staring at him with a blank look. She didn't look surprised, shocked or excited. Her face was as straight as someone having absolutely no expression would have.

What shocked Hinata was that he actually knew this person. She was wearing the white uniform of advanced class and her chestnut colored hair was braided up and bangs tied up on up-ward ponytail to avoid them getting in her way. She was staring at Hinata with her big and amber-colored eyes.

She was Furukawa Kazuko.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you." Hinata snapped out of it, and apologized to Kazuko while getting up. He looked around himself and realized that they were various canvas-paintings on the walls as well as some easels holding still un-finished canvas works of the other students. Kazuko was currently sitting before one of the easels, holding a wooden palette filled with multiple colors in one of her arms and a paintbrush in her other arm.

Without realizing it, he had found his way into the arts clubroom.

Kazuko put away the painting tools in her arms and wiped away the paint from her arms to her apron. After than she once again turned to Hinata. This time a light smile escaped from her lips. Or maybe it was just the sun light behind her that made it seem so. "Don't mind it. This place isn't really private. I was just about to finish for today, anyway."

Hinata took few timid steps towards Kazuko in order to see her painting. As the girl didn't seem to be driving him away from the room, he then put more confidence in his steps and approached the girl and her work. Once he saw it, his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, it's really beautiful, you're a wonderful painter Kazuko-chan… er… I mean Furukawa." His words where so sincere and seemed to come right from his heart that Kazuko cracked a light smile.

Kazuko was currently working on a sunset theme. At the front she had tree branches and a two little birds sitting on them. The colors where so beautiful that Hinata's breath was taken. The contrast of the red, yellow and orange of the background to the blue and green colors of the birds was just amazing. The boy had never seen such a detailed work.

The girl then glanced at her painting. "Thank you. It's named 'Two Birds Under Sunset'. Though it's still nothing compared to that man's work. His 'Harbor Of Departing Ships' is the most amazing painting I've ever seen." She told, giving a hint there was someone she admired as a painter and aimed become like him.  **(1)**

Hinata's eyes widened. The girl was already a better painted he could ever become, but still she aimed to become even better. Ah, well… he kind of could understand her ambition. After all he too wanted to become a stronger volleyball player. He wasn't satisfied with the way he was now, when there was such strong presences near him. He didn't want to lose to Kageyama or Tsukishima.

Kazuko then continued. "Please, do call me Kazuko like you used to. If I have to be honest, I'm not really mad at you. It hurt to know that you've been keeping such thing as a secret from us all the time, especially after all denying." The girl kept a pause and then turned look at Hinata. "But you know, everyone has a thing or two they don't want other people to know. I bet you had your reason." After that her glance wandered back to her painting.

Hinata lowered his glance and formed his hands into fists. His body started to tremble as anger took the best of him. Anger towards himself. Coming to Teikoku has completely messed up everyone's lives. Not only his, but innocent high school girl had also gotten involved in it. Could just someone stop the time and reset everything for him? "I'm really sorry for hiding it from you… I wanted to tell you, but…"

Turning to Hinata, Kazuko interrupted him with a smiling face. "No need to explain. It's too late anyway." And she was right. Everything had already happened. He had ruined everyone's lives and there was no turning back. They had to move forward from the places they were left into. He too needed to stop on weeping in shame and asking help from already lost Natsu.

He needed to pull himself together and get away from the mess on his own.

Kazuko kept a short pause. Her expression then suddenly got sad all of a sudden. "I kept my distance for the sake of Michiyo. Of course, she's partly at fault for ever falling in love with that guy. I really like you, Natsu-chan… but I've known Michiyo since childhood. She's the only person who stayed beside me even after finding what kind of person I am. I can't ditch her just like that."

"No no, you don't have to. I completely understand you-"

But Kazuko didn't give Hinata chance to speak. "Also, sorry for Emiko. She's maybe a little too over-protective over Michiyo." The ginger was taken aback by surprise. Who would've thought that the always so few-word Kazuko would be able to speak so openheartedly when it came to her friends. Hinata had found another interesting fact about the Queens trio.

Also, they were inseparable.

"No, Kazuko-chan, you don't have to apologize anymore. I'm at fault for not telling that I'm actually married to Kageyama-san." Hinata finally managed to speak, as Kazuko quieted down having said everything she wanted. His expression then showed a miserable smile. "But I'm kind of jealous of Michiyo-kun. She has such good friends."

He wondered how Kenma and Nishinoya were doing.

Hinata wanted to see his two dearest friends.

The chest-nut head smiled. "Thanks."

"Also, I have heard nothing about that?" She added.

Hinata's eyes widened. "About what?"

"You being married to Kageyama."

Well…  _Shit._

* * *

"Natsu-sama. Dinner is ready." Hinata heard Miharu knocking on his door and inform him. The boy answered with a quick 'yes' and went to change his trousers into skirt and T-shirt. For more girly appeal, Saeko had advised him to use skirts whenever he was outside his room. That way Kageyama would have less evidence on his boyish figure and wouldn't doubt his wife being a boy.

Once the ginger opened his eyes he realized that Miharu was still standing behind his door. The woman smiled kindly at the boy. "I'll go call Tobio-sama down. You should ask his help now, it's your last chance." She told trying to encourage the boy, but her attempt kind of backfired. Hinata gulped loudly and came into second thoughts. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Don't worry, I'll back you up." The woman told while flashing a wide smile. This made Hinata to calm down a little. If it was with the woman, he felt like he would be able to survive the task. After all she knew the raven well and had her ways to convince him. Finally Hinata headed towards the dining hall. He prayed inside his head that everything would go well.

Not long after the ginger had sat down and started his meal, Kageyama also walked down the stairs being followed by Miharu. The couple glanced at each other and Hinata lowered his head to greet his husband. Kageyama answered with a small nod, but then averted his eyes away. He pulled the chair back and sat down, starting his meal.

The atmosphere had pretty much returned to what it was before Tsukishima and Yamaguchi suddenly barged in. Kageyama acted very cold towards him and spent most of his time on the second floor. He had even stopped doing volleyball practice, now that schools had started. He used to be much more lively with the other two around, but now they had gone back to the beginning.

"Umm…" Hinata finally broke the silence with an awkward silence and this made Kageyama to take his eyes off the food. He wiped his face with a napkin and stared at his wife. The ginger was moving anxiously in his seat avoiding eye contact with the raven.

Kageyama clicked his tongue. "If you aren't going to say anything, I'm going to continue my meal. Stupid woman." He openly insulted his wife, which made Hinata's nerve to pull. As usual this man had no manners how to deal with a woman. He was offended, but knew that there was a bigger problem in hands at the moment so he decided to ignore it. Someday he'll surely get Kageyama for that snappy tongue of his.

Hinata calmed down his nerves with a deep breath. "You see. There's been a guy in school who's making me feel very uncomfortable. He's been literally stalking and harassing me." The boy explained, giving a timid look at the raven.

Kageyama's face turned into a cunning smirk, which made Hinata cautious of what was coming next. That expression couldn't mean any good. "Oh, to think there was someone interested in a shrimp like you. And? What do you want from me?" Hinata gulped loudly. Slowly, the atmosphere was turning intimidating. How typical of the raven.

"Well… you… see…" The 'wife' had trouble on finding the words. Kageyama sat own his seat leaning his cheek against his fist, waiting for an answer. Couldn't the girl be any faster? He was setting bored. "I kind of wanted ask… if you could help me to get rid of him…?" Hinata finally managed to mumble.

Kageyama let out a hollow laugh. "Are you kidding me? No way."

Hinata had known it. It was impossible to ask help from Kageyama. How stupid had he been to even think that he'd be willing to help him. Especially after witnessing how much he hated women. This was useless, his life was over! What more could he do?

"Tobio-sama, please listen to her story. After all Natsu-sama is your wife and you're obliged to help her." What saved Hinata's inner cries was Miharu's words. The ginger glanced at the woman, who winked at him upon their eyes meeting. The boy smiled lightly at her, but Kageyama turned up his nose.

He sighed. "Yeah. A wife I never wanted to marry. I would so much prefer to be single and spend my time playing volleyball. She messed up my daily routine completely." The raven groaned to himself, but shut up after receiving deathly glare from Miharu. "So what do want me to do?"

It was easier to please the woman than encounter her wrath, Kageyama had learned that the hard way. After hearing his question, Miharu smiled kindly. Now everything was left to Hinata. She had done her job. The gingers eyes widened and he started to stutter. "Well- yo- nee-"

"Speak clearly." Kageyama commanded, making Hinata to shut up and calm down.

The ginger then continued. "You need to come to school tomorrow. That's all." He smiled happily. Maybe, just maybe he would finally get rid of the copper-head stalker. Then, finally one obstacle to happiness would be overcome.

"Come to school?  _That's_ _ **all!?**_ " Kageyama's expression got furious all of a sudden. "Who are you kidding? After all the  **trouble**  of hiding our relationship  _you_  want me to  _come to the school_  and reveal-"

"Tobio-sama." Miharu's sharp call stopped the boy.

Kageyama hissed loudly and then clicked his tongue. He was clearly unsatisfied, it could be seen how he crossed his arms on his chest while leaning back. Going up against Miharu would be far biggest disaster than going to the school. That's how much power she had over him, and he knew he couldn't win against her.

Oh, how much he hated this all. He hated his wife, he hated being married. He hated  _everything!_  Even that guy had suddenly left side and moved to Germany. Oh, how much he hated him! Just remembering his assertive smirk made Kageyama want to punch someone in the face.

"I'll come to school tomorrow… if I remember…" Kageyama then left the table without finishing his meal. He had lost all of his appetite. Miharu smirked at the raven who was getting up the stairs.

Now that was more like it.

* * *

Hinata shot nervous glances at the clock, waiting for the lesson to end. He literally jumped up from his seat when the bell rang. All of the class bowed at the teacher who then told that the class was dismissed. It was the end of the school day. The ginger then glanced at Amaya who was standing next to him.

"So today is the day?" The bluenette questioned him, showing a joyful smirk on her face. For the first time she had been excited of something happening in the school. It was good that she had come to school today. It was worth witnessing what was the aftermath once you messed up with the possession of Kageyama Tobio.

Hinata showed at enthusiastic smile. "Yeah." Well, as much as he was excited to finally getting rid of Miyano he also feared that Kageyama would most likely end someone during the encounter. That guy was so unpredictable you never knew when he would finally snap.

"Oh, oh. What are you talking about? What day today is?" Miyano suddenly approached the duo and placed his arm on Hinata's shoulder. As usual, his over-enthusiastic smile made the pessimistic Amaya want to throw up. How on earth he could keep on smiling every single day? Didn't his mouth muscles hurt?

Hinata slowly and discreetly moved the large arm away from his shoulder. After that he glanced at Miyano and showed him – what it seemed to be – an innocent smile. "It's the day, you're going to meet my boyfriend. Just like I promised." The ginger spoke and thanked the gods that Miharu had helped him to convince Kageyama to take the action.

Miyano showed doubtful look, but decided to follow the girl duo anyway. After all he couldn't wait to see who this supposed boyfriend of Kageyama Natsu was. Most likely a random guy she picked up from the streets. No way she's actually dating the real Kageyama Tobio. He wasn't that type of guy.

Hinata was searching for the usual white car he always came to school on, but was unable to find it. He wondered if his driver was being late, maybe he thought they had practice after school. The ginger started to panic, if his driver wasn't there yet, so wasn't Kageyama.

That's when he finally saw a black car being parked near the entrance. The driver got out and opened the door for the man sitting on the back seat. Finally, a dark figure stepped out of the car, gathering curious glances around him. After all some of the students recognized him.

Hinata's inner tears leaked out at the sight of Kageyama. He had gotten so nervous and afraid of the thought that Kageyama might not actually come. But now the man was here and he had nothing to be afraid of anymore. His intimidating savior wearing a scowl had appeared on a pure black car. Now couldn't this get any darker?

As the trio approached Kageyama, who made a movement upon seeing Hinata, Miyano's expression darkened all of a sudden. It was frightening how the smile he wore on his face every day could disappear in a matter of seconds. It was as if it had never been there. In the level of intimidation, he was as scary as Kageyama.

"So, Kageyama Tobio. What are you doing here?" The copper-head asked and the atmosphere around the men fell down so much Hinata could feel shivers crawling up his back. Passer-by stopped, curious, to witness the confrontation between to males. Some of the school girls started whispering around and ran to call their friends.

Kageyama clicked his tongue. He didn't like how this was turning into big scenario. He was just supposed to pick up his wife and get the hell out of there, but now he was stuck dealing with the stalker. And out of all the people in the world (in the school) it had to be him. "I could ask you the same thing, Miyano Kyoya?"

Miyano chuckled. "But what do you think. I study in this school and currently am escorting the girl I like to her car. But how come you, who is not a student of this school anymore, is here?" Hinata gulped at the boy. Really, if he had known it would turn into battlefield he would never even suggest brining Kageyama there. Secondly, how come the two boys knew each other? Where they were acquaintances from?

"You know something about them?" Hinata questioned Amaya, who shook her head as an answer. First of all she wasn't interested in popular people, secondly she wasn't interested in boys and lastly she wasn't particularly interested in other people at all.

"About Miyano-kun, right? His family owns Japan's biggest hospital and he's currently the heir studying hard to get into medical school. He's always been popular due to status, but sadly during first year he stayed in the shadows of Kageyama-san. This year he's been receiving more attention and they say he's the third generation King." Hinata suddenly heard a voice from his left. He turned around and saw two girls wearing black-colored school uniforms standing next to him.  **(2)**

"Captain!" His surprise was genuine. Hotaru showed him a peace sing while smiling widely. Kanon nodded lightly to greet her junior, who did the same.

After that the captain of girls' volleyball club turned to look at the copper-head. "And before you ask anything more, I know this all because we're cousin's from my mothers side." Well, now he might understand the situation a little better. But he still didn't get why Miyano had set his eyes on him – someone who was actually a boy – when he obviously could get any girl he wanted. Also, third generation King? Who was the first one?

Kageyama sighed loudly and then glanced at Hinata. "Well the girl you're supposed to escort, is actually my wife. I'm here to pick her up and ensure that she's safe from stalkers and molesters." The raven told as he then approached to Hinata and took hold of his arm. The two of them were already heading towards the car when Miyano suddenly spoke.

"Wife? Are you kidding me? From what I heard she was first only crushing on you, then you two were suddenly dating and now she's actually your wife… there's something very fishy going on. Are you sure you're not just screwing up with everyone?" His glance then wandered to their hands. "Neither of you are even wearing wedding rings. How are you doing to prove that you're actually married?"

Well, now things were going in the wrong direction. Kageyama had been careless when coming to school. But then again, he didn't know that he would be dealing with that Miyano Kyoya. That guy was as sharp as usually, it was no wonder he would be the one to inherit the hospital. The raven then glanced at his wife whose eyes were as wide and bright as the sun itself. Guess he had no other choice.

Then it happened.

This was a scenario which would be hot topic in the school for the rest of the year.

Everyone who witnessed it gasped loudly.

Some of the girls even fainted.

Their hearts were broken into pieces.

Kageyama lowered his head and pulled Hinata towards him. The orange-bush didn't have any time to react. Before he could even gasp the situation his face was already between Kageyama's arm and head, their lips connected to each other. Upon realizing his position, Hinata's face slowly started to stream hard as his face turned red like an apple. Still, Kageyama was refusing to move.

When Hinata was at the point of losing his consciousness, Kageyama finally ended the kiss. The ginger was huffing for air, his face completely red from embarrassment while the raven didn't seem to be even least affected. "No matter what you try to do, you're never going to win against me, Miyano. After all, I am the heir of the Kageyama family." Kageyama announced proudly. "Also this woman is my wife and I cannot have her being touched by another man. So do not bother her anymore."

With those words the raven entered the car, dragging his still flustered wife with him. As Miyano watched the car driving off from the school yard, he sighed loudly. "The reason I can't win against you, Tobio-oniisan, is because I had already lost the game from the very start. All this time her thoughts were only about you. I couldn't make her look my way even once."

"Aaa-a, I only played around with her because I heard she's your rumored wife. Well, it's was fun the time it lasted." He then grinned widely.

* * *

He clearly wasn't in the mood to meet them that day, but he had no other choice. The car parked before the lounge and Kageyama got off the car. He then opened the front door and entered the place one of his friends owned. He was a cheerful shout that came from the shortest person of their group.

"Oh, Kageyama. You're late." Nishinoya chirped, implying that he might be the last person to come.

Kageyama took of his outer clothing and then walked towards his gang that had gathered around one of the tables. "Sorry, the meeting with my father got stretched far more than I had assumed." The raven apologized, sitting down to the empty seat prepared just for him.

"Well given your father, that's not a surprise." Azumane Asahi stated, a weak smile on his face. He seemed kind of tired, given the deadly look and big bags under his eyes. He was also nodding off as if he would fall asleep any moment. That wasn't really a surprise, though, given the triplets he lived with.

Sawamura Daichi smiled widely, looking at the gang that had completely gathered, now that Kageyama arrived. "Anyway, sit down. We're all present now."

"As always, they forgive the King for being late." Tsukishima sneered, receiving angry glare from the raven. That guy really had to be present everywhere. Why couldn't he get rid of the annoying blonde, who never did anything but mocked him? Yamaguchi, who sat next to his boyfriend laughed at Tsukishima's comment.

A woman approached their table. "What would your order be?" Kiyoko questioned the men, wearing a white blouse, black trousers and blue apron on her. It was almost a year now, since she started doing part-time job and the 'Fallen Crow' as the lounge was called.

"Beer for me!" Tanaka shouted and then turned to look at the woman. "And of course you, Kiyoko-chan!" He jumped towards the woman, who avoided with a fast duck making Tanaka's smack at the nearby table. Nishinoya had been about to do the same, but decided not to after witnessing the outcome of his friend.

"Ah, sorry but we're not selling alcohol for minors." Kiyoko told with straight face, and then started taking notes as everyone told their order. Only Sugawara and Azumane were the ones who got beers. Everyone else mostly went with either coke, juice or plain water. Kiyoko thanked them and went to tell the order list to the bartender and the owner of "Fallen Crows" Sugawara Koushi who was also part of the gang.  **(3)**

In fact it was already past the working hours and the gang were the only people in the lounge. The gang, also known as "fallen crows" – getting their name after the lounge - were having a private meeting there. Kageyama-Tsukishima-Yamaguchi duo had just returned from a mission and it was time to discuss it through.

That was at least the plan they had in mind.

Till Nishinoya changed the subject.

"Say Kageyama, why I never knew that you're married?" The sharp libero suddenly wondered staring at Kageyama's ring finger. The comment made the raven almost choke on his coke and he then coughed loudly. After that he checked his left hand. And yes, there was a golden ring on his ring finger. Kageyama cursed, he must've forgotten to take it off after the meeting with his father.

"Eh, Kageyama you're married?" Sawamura looked surprised and Tanaka immediately started to examine the ring on his hand. He was shocked to know that his junior had gotten married before him. "I can understand Asahi-san, but not you too."

It took the whole night and even next day to recover from the shock he received.

"Say say! What's her name?" Nishinoya suddenly started to fish for information. "Must be something cute, like Aiko or Hanako… or Kiyoko!" The shortest member of the gang suddenly exclaimed. Meanwhile the rest of the gang had also started to get curious over this mysterious wife of Kageyama.

…with the exception of Kiyoko, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, of course. There's no need to remind that they already know 'her' identity. Ah, but I did it already. Oh well…

"It's Natsu… Hinata Natsu… I think." Kageyama finally announced, trying to remember the maiden name of his wife. Gosh, why was everyone getting so fussed over his wife? Currently they were acting as annoying as his wife. He wanted to change the topic… couldn't they get into the business already?

_**CRASH!** _

Everyone turned to look at Sugawara who had dropped the glass he was drying. The man quickly started to gather the pieces, drying the tears forming into the corners of his eyes. He apologized for his carelessness and thanked Kiyoko when she offered to help him.

Nishinoya had frozen to that place, his eyes glazing. "No that can't be… She can't be Hinata Natsu." The brunette finally spoke, turning everyone's attention towards him. Kageyama raised his eyebrow, what the hell was this man talking about?

"What do you mean?" Sawamura spoke the question no one dared to voice out. They understood by the behavior of the two that something was wrong. Tears started rolling down Nishinoya's cheeks as he remember his orange-bush friend and his younger sister. It was obvious that he wasn't in the condition to speak. Sugawara sighed looking at his friend and then lowered his glance trying to hide his tears from the others.

"Because Hinata Natsu died three months ago."

* * *

Two figures advanced through hallways of the police offices, seeming to be in quite hurry. Though it seemed that their already fast pace wasn't satisfying the other one. "Please, can't we get any faster? I really need to get to that police officer as fast as possible. He's life is in danger." They sounded anxious and concerned.

"We're already going as fast as we can. Be glad that I actually bothered to bring you here. Oh, these young spirits, absolutely no respect towards elders." The other reasoned and then shook their head. Man what a bother, maybe they shouldn't have agreed to help. For their downside they were far to kind, always willing to lend out a helping hand.

"Ah, this is it." They finally announced as they arrived at a door where was written 'Takeda Ittetsu'. They then glanced at the one coming after them. "He's the one who can help the kinds of us. Go there and tell your worries. I have now accomplished my task so I'm going. Good luck, young one."

"Thank you." The younger one thanked and then turned towards the door. The stared at the name plate for a while and then took a determined step ahead. They had been searching for this for so long and finally they had reached it. Now wasn't the time to get scared and back off. They needed to save him. Entering the room they announced, "Detective Takeda, I need your help."

The said person raised his head from the papers.

His eyes widened in shock.

"You. You're-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Well, the name of the first painting is something I came up on my own. But the name of the second painting actually comes after a finnish children song of the same name. Also, the painter of that work and the person Kazuko admires is someone we know very well and has already appeared in this story. I'll reveal the name later on this story (because it has suddenly turned into a plot bunny!) Kazuko is going to have her own part in the story.
> 
> 2\. There only reason he's here because in any story (shoujo-manga) there just has to be that one heir of a hospital who can keep on accomplishing his dream if only he keeps his grades the best in his school year. (Yumeiro Patissiere, Watashi Ni XX Shinasai). Thank god, Miyano is properly striving into inheriting the hospital instead of baking sweets. (haha).
> 
> 3\. The legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years. Just adding the ages of each character in order from oldest to yougest - as of May of the current year they live in. Sugawara (June, 20), Sawamura (December, 20), Azumane (January, 20), Kiyoko (January, 20), Narita (August, 19), Nishinoya (October, 19), Ennoshita (December, 19) Kinoshita (Ferbuary, 19), Tanaka (March, 19), Hinata (June, 18), Tsukishima (September, 18), Yamaguchi (November, 18), Kageyama (December, 18). Funny thing Sawamura-Ennoshita-Kageyama are all one year apart being born in December.
> 
> Children who have their 6th birthday on or before April 1 enter the first grade of elementary school of that year. This is the reason why Sugawara, who is actually born on the year earlier is in the same class as Azumane. Also the reason why Tanaka, who is actually only 3 months older than Hinata is a second year, while the latter is a first year.


	20. Raven's Wrath

It was quiet in the Kageyama household. Miharu was finishing the chores, while Hinata was in his room. Kageyama hadn't **s** till returned home from the meeting, and his housekeeper was getting worried. It usually never took so long for him to return home.

At Miharu's thought of Kageyama, the front door was suddenly thrusted open with a force that made it slam against the wall in the entrance.

"Wha-!?" The woman was startled of the abrupt sound and her heart skipped few beats. 'Gosh these youngsters; she'll surely lose more than just few years with them.' Miharu headed to the entrance, wandering what was going on.

"Where is s-  _ **he!?**_   Where is that  _son_  of a bitch?" was the first thing that came from the heir of Kageyama family, who had just entered the house.

"Wel-"

Miharu wasn't even able to greet him, when the man already rushed past her his face as fierce as fire.

"Where the hell is he? Bring that bitch to me!" Kageyama continued bellowing.

His insides raged and his head spun. Kageyama's thoughts hadn't completely cleared since finding out the truth about Hinata and his younger sister. Right now the only thing in his mind was to find that fucking liar and beat him up.

Kageyama couldn't believe he had completely fallen for Hinata's story about the older brother studying in America. Nishinoya, who was close to the Hinata family had admitted it might be true, having not heard anything about the Hinatas since Natsu's funeral; but added that Hinata wasn't good enough in English to study over-seas.

By Sugawara's words it was clear that it had been Natsu who died. She had taken her last breath in his arms while Hinata had been standing next to him. Soon after that even Kiyoko had told that she had known his true gender all along – verifying everyone's words. After all she had been the one who helped Hinata create that character and façade.

" _Only our ignorant King couldn't realize he's been living with a man this whole time."_ Tsukishima had chuckled, implying that he had also figured out the true gender of the young wife. Yamaguchi had grinned widely, but quickly had hidden behind Tsukishima upon seeing Kageyama's murderous glare.

Kageyama was the only one who hadn't known.

He was the only one who hadn't realized that the orange-bush was actually a man.

He was a fucking idiot.

"Dammit!"

Even Isoya had been suspicious Hinata and had mentioned that the ginger looked like Karasuno's bench warmer. Just why the heck he hadn't paid more attention back then? Why hadn't he even suspected that the little brat was actually a man? The fucking brat who dared to slap him.

The brat he had kissed twice.

_Fuck._

A door to Hinata's room slid openand the ginger's head peeked out. He had heard the ruckus and came out, wondering what was going on. That was the mistake of his life.

The second Kageyama saw him the raven dashed towards him and smashed Hinata's back against the wall. The ginger gasped for air when the impact emptied his lungs.

"Kaggh-"

"You fucking liar!" Kageyama cursed and bang Hinata's head against the wall.

The hit made Hinata's vision go blurry. The ginger breathed hard and wanted to ask what the hell was wrong with Kageyama. Why was raven attacking him all of a sudden? "Kagey-"

Hinata froze.

Kageyama's stare completely stiffed up his body.

The raven's eyes were bewildered. He radiated such murderous desire, Hinata thought this would be the end of his life. The scowl Kageyama usually wore was nothing compared to this monstrous expression.

"You dare to lie to me, you fucking son of a bitch!" Kageyama smashed his fist against the wall, just few centimeters away from Hinata's face.

The following happened so fast Hinata had no time to react.

Kageyama showed his hand under Hinata's skirt.

"Wha- Sto-!"

He tried to stop the raven, but Kageyama was far stronger and faster. In few seconds, his hand met a thing that was unknown to a woman's body, but something he knew very well. Something that proved Hinata of his manhood. "Bloody hell…"

Kageyama's expression fell, the temperature in the room falling down by at least ten degrees.

Hinata shut his eyes as soon as he saw the other guy's fist raising up.

"FUCK! YOU FUCKING LIAR! SON OF A BITCH! ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME!?" Kageyama started countlessly smashing his fist against the wall. The knuckles of his arm were torn open and slowly the place he hit got painted by red colour. "THINKING YOU COULD TRICK ME SO EASILY! DUMBASS, BLOODY, FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Kageyama ignored the pain and the blood.

His mind was completely occupied with the thought of wanting to completely destroy that little piece of shit. Someone who dared to mess up with the heir of the Kageyama family wouldn't get out of the situation alive. "DAMMIT!" He had to do his all in order to suppress the feeling of hitting the small man standing before him.

Miharu couldn't bear to watch the riot anymore and wrapped herself around Kageyama's arm to stop him. "I beg to Tobio-sama. Shoyo-sama has nothing to do, please stop this!" She cried her begs trying to calm down the man who was almost twice her size.

Kageyama froze. His eyes turned at Miharu, glazing in anger. " _Shoyo-sama?_ " His voice was cold as ice. The name was so familiar. He had heard name so many times that night. It belonged to the eldest son of Hinata family; Hinata Shoyo.

"Are you telling me even you knew that this asshole brat was actually a man?" Miharu gulped and averted her eyes away, admitting the fact. Once Kageyama had reached this stage of his anger, she no longer had powers to stop him.

"SO I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING? ALL YOU BLOODY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CONSPIRING BEHIND MY BACK!?" He roared. "ENOUGH! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS FUCKING SHIT!" Kageyama freed himself from Miharu's hold and stormed upstairs.

Once Kageyama's presence was gone, Miharu sighed. So the undercover had finally been found out. The young master took it much worse than she had assumed. Now he needed some time to calm down his nerves before they could have any reasonable conversation.

But before that, she had another thing to deal with.

The woman turned towards Hinata, who was lying on the floor his limp body leaning against the wall. She approached the ginger and helped him up. The droopy corpus barely rose from the floor but as soon as Miharu got Hinata on his feet, the boy suddenly froze up.

The gingers eyes were blank as if his soul had been sucked out of him. "Follow me, Shoyo-sama." Miharu encouraged the boy and took a hold of his arm. The ginger refused to move an inch of his body and the housekeeper had to help him into his room. She had noticed a wet stain on his skirt, so that needed to be dealt with first.

Miharu undressed the boy and went to prepare a bath for him. Once the water was running to the bathtub she returned back to Hinata's side. She stood before him and took hold of his arm. "I prepared a bath for you. Do you think you can manage the rest on your own?" She asked kindly, just like a mother from her son.

Hinata kept staring ahead, straight into emptiness.

His eyes had no color in them.

His expression was blank.

Finally, Hinata nodded lightly.

A tear drop rolled down his cheek.

It landed on Miharu's hand.

A sympathizing smile appeared on the brunette's face. She stood up and took Hinata into a motherly hug. "Everything is going to be alright." The woman caressed his head. The ginger stood still, absorbing every gesture of motherly love he could get.

Once Hinata was in the bath, Miharu took the stained clothes and left his room. She shot a worried look at the stairs, but knew well enough that Kageyama wasn't willing to talk to her. Her eyes then turned at the bloody mark on the wall and the small puddle of yellow liquid on the floor. After doing the laundry the next task would be to clean them.

And so, Kageyama shut himself inside his room for a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, but this chapter marks the end of the first arc, Kageyama Natsu and the start of the second arc Fallen Crows.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very welcomed!


End file.
